Music For Love
by Brinvixen
Summary: All Bella loves is music. All Edward wants to do is help.
1. Encounters

**Hello all who are reading this! This is my first Twilight fic, so please bear with me those who are seasoned at reading Twilight fics. I might have deviated somewhat from Stephanie Meyer's creation of the characters, but isnt that what fics are about? Borrowing someone else's work and shaping it into something of your own (while crediting them extensively for the borrow)?**

**Anyway, I hope that this will go over well. I was at some unease at pursuing a Twilight fic, but at the same time, I wanted to test the waters of a new genre. So here goes my experiment.**

**Notes: Don't ask me why, but for some reason when I thought of Bella having a singing voice, I pictured Celine Dion, mainly because she characterized as being so lovesick in the actual series, and Celine Dion has an extensive collection of love songs. For that reason, when Bella is sining, and all the music she writes, I credit Celine Dion for the inspiration. I also hold no claim to her lyrics, or others mentioned in this fic. Also, though Edward and others retain their vampire-like beauty, I decided not to make them vampires in this fic....it just didn't seem to fit with the idea I'm going for. Finally, I have placed links for the songs used in this story so that you all may (if you chose) to hear what Bella is singing. Remember that when you listen to the song, you're hearing the digitally remastered version. Use your imagination if you're wondering what it would sound like with the instruments mentioned in the story.**

**If there's anything else I think deserves mentioning, I'll be sure to do so in later chapters. On with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, or any of its characters. I also do not own any components to the Celine Dion song "If That's What It Takes"**

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**Encounters**

While everyone else on campus enjoyed the unusually warm October day, Bella Swan was in the school's music building, hard at work. Between managing her classes and the social life that her friends wished her to have, she never had many opportunities to work on her craft. Even today, when Angela begged her to take advantage of, most likely, the last warm day before the shift to winter, Bella had to politely decline. The warm day meant that everyone was more than likely outside, which meant she would have total peace within the walls of the music building. No distractions. No interruptions. No nothing.

So far, she had spent the last strumming on her personal acoustic guitar, followed by scribbling lyrics into a worn composition notebook. Then, once she was satisfied with at least three of four of the lines she had come up with, she would sing.

Bella loved to sing. Once, her mother had told her humorously that Bella had been singing when she came out of the womb. Though it had only been a joke, it certainly felt to Bella that she had been singing all her life. But only in private or in front of people that knew her and that she knew well. And she never sung her own personal work for others. She felt that her music would be interpreted as comical. Her songs were all about love, and that normally triggered a laughing response.

From an outsider's view – Bella could understand – that her lyrics would appear incredibly sappy, but in actually, the words told the honest feelings that Bella had on love and on loving someone. Love was the most complex feeling a human could feel. Words, even the sappiest words, sometimes were not enough to express what the feeling of being in love meant. She had heard enough relationship stories from friends, both good and bad, to inspire volumes of work. And even though Bella was yet to fall deeply in love with someone, she felt that if and when she did, it would feel exactly as the music she created about it felt. Writing the music gave her hope that when her time did come, it would be a blissfully exciting journey with someone she couldn't live without.

So Bella wrote her songs based on those feelings. She sang about what love would feel like to her when it finally encompassed her. She sang to the person she would finally give her heart to. She sang about their journeys together, the love and passion they would share. She sang without shame, but she still sung it all in private. Because even though she wasn't ashamed about her opinions on love, she was still shy at how those opinions would be received.

Bella picked up her guitar and positioned her fingers. Eyes focusing on her music book, she began to play:

_  
You're the bravest of hearts, you're the strongest of souls_

_You're my light in the dark, you're the place I call home_

_You can say it's all right, but I know you're breaking up inside_

_I can see it in your eyes_

_Even you face the night afraid and alone_

_That's why I'll be there_

_  
When the storm rises up, when the shadows descend_

_Every beat of my heart, every day without end_

_Every second I live, that's the promise I make_

_Baby, that's what I'll give, if that's what it takes_

_If that's what it takes_

Bella wrote this particular song after hearing from a friend about a situation she was in with her boyfriend. She was angry that her boyfriend wasn't spending enough time with her, because of his dedication to football. Even while he was having the toughest time maintaining first string quarterback, she still wouldn't support him. Bella didn't say it then, but she felt that her friend was in the wrong. Surely, a good girlfriend would want to be there for her boyfriend in all his endeavors, just like she would want her boyfriend to be there for her.

_  
You can sleep in my arms, you don't have to explain_

_When your heart's crying out, baby, whisper my name_

_Cause I've reached out for you when the thunder is crashing up above_

_You've give me your love_

_When you smile like the sun that shines through the pain_

_That's why I'll be there_

_  
When the storm rises up, when the shadows descend_

_Every beat of my heart, every day without end_

_I will stand like a rock, I will bend till I break_

_Till there's no more to give, if that's what it takes_

_I will risk everything, I will fight, I will bleed_

_Every second I live, that's the promise I make_

_Baby, that's what I'll give, if that's what it takes_

Bella knew in her heart that if she was in her friend's situation, she wouldn't complain about lack of time spent together. In all honesty, her friend could have just attended the football games, or maybe tried to work out a schedule for them around his own. There was an solution, Bella was certain. It may not be the easiest thing to find, but it was possible.

_  
Through the wind and the rain, through the smoke and the fire_

_When the fear rises up, when the wave's ever higher_

_I will lay down my heart, my body, my soul_

_I will hold on all night and never let go_

_Every second I live, that's the promise I make_

_Baby that's what I'll give, if that's what it takes_

_  
If that's what it takes_

_Every day_

_If that's what it takes_

_Every day_

Bella let the final chords of the song melt into the atmosphere, and listened to the sound of her instrument fused harmoniously with the remnants of her voice. The song was an old one, but it still gave her that warm feeling inside at its end, as did all her music. She sang it only as a means to warm up her voice, but before she could plunge into more recent work, she heard the frightening sound of a throat clearing.

_Oh no._

"Wow." The word entered her ears in a low and distinctly masculine voice, as if some higher power was playing a cruel trick on her. Not only had she been overheard, she had to have been overheard by a _man._

Bella's back faced the entrance door to the room – a stupid move on her part, she now thought. She craned her neck slowly around to see the body that went with the voice.

The cruelty of this trick went up three notches. Not only was it indeed a man, but it was the most gorgeous male specimen Bella had ever laid eyes on. He was incredibly tall, with broad shoulders and a slender frame. The bronze color of his hair glistened attractively in the light coming through the room's windows. That same sunlight accented the breathtaking gold of his irises. He was so beautiful, with impeccable facial features and full lips curved into a closed-lip mile, it almost hurt to look at him. So Bella looked away, an embarrassed blush covering her cheeks.

"You have quite a voice there." His voice didn't sound mocking, but genuinely appreciative.

"Thank you," Bella murmured, contemplating just how the hell she was going to get herself out of this uncomfortable situation.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," he added. "Please, it seemed like you were about to play another song."

"Actually, I was just about to leave," Bella said. She stood up quickly, holding her guitar close. "You can have the room, if you want."

"No, please, you were here first."

She insisted, "I'm done now, so go ahead."

The guy gave her a long look, but then shrugged. "Well if you say so."

As soon as he stepped into the room, and therefore unblocked the exit, Bella dashed out the door, not wanting to be trapped into any awkward pleasantries. Her heart pounded rapidly with embarrassment as she thought of the lyrics she had just sung. They hadn't been meant for anyone's ears, and especially not for this commandingly attractive male. Even though Bella had felt an unexpected warm at the compliment on her voice, it wasn't enough to shake the nerves of being heard. She didn't even have the heart to find another room to practice in. Instead, she headed back to her dorm room.

Unfortunately, it wasn't until quite late in that same day that Bella realized that in her rush to leave the room, she had left her composition book behind. Her body shook with fear as she pictured the book laid open on the music stand she was using, her words on display. She knew that if she were in the guy's position – or if anyone were to come in – they would be tempted to read. She would have been tempted herself. And her fucking name was on the cover as well, so anyone who _did_ read it would know it was her work.

_Damn it._

Bella knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until the book was safely back in her possession. Even though it was well into the night, she pulled an oversized sweatshirt over her pajamas, slipped into her flip-flops and left her dorm room. The keycards, thankfully, worked at all hours, so she would be able to get into the music building. She could only hope that her book would be waiting, untouched, for her.

Once Bella was inside the music building, she was surprised to hear the sound of music filling her ears. She wasn't aware that people would be using the music building this late at night. Surely, there were people who used the music building for more intimate matters at this hour, but certainly not for musical purposes. The music got louder and more distinguishable as she neared the room she had been using earlier. Her heart dropped at the sudden familiarity: it was the same song she had been caught playing. Though there was more flourish to the melody, and was being played on a piano, the similarities were uncanny. Someone was playing her song.

Now that she stood in front of the door, she was afraid to go in. At the same time, she knew that it was the only way to retrieve her book. Not only that, but now she had to banter with the musician in question, and beg them to stop playing her song. Her inner battle ended when she realized she had subconsciously turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.

It was dark inside – the moonlight pouring in did only some much to light the room. Bella knew where the piano was, but couldn't see who was sitting behind the large instrument. What she did see however, was her music book, resting closed atop a desk. She walked over to it and pulled the item close to her chest.

Suddenly, the music stopped, and a voice filled the air: "I didn't look, promise."

The sound made Bella's heart speed up from its already increased beating rate. It was the same voice from today. The room was suddenly flooded with light. Bella's eyes went to towards the only other person in the room – the guy from before, now standing by one of the many light switches placed throughout the room. He smiled warmly at Bella, but she did little to reciprocate.

"You must have gone through my book," she said, her voice shaky. "How else are you playing my music?"

"I remembered it from this afternoon," he explained. "I'm afraid I never did introduce myself then. My name is Edward Cullen."

Bella narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't play my music," she said as firmly as she could manage.

Edward held up his hands in defense. "Alright, I won't play your music."

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"I wanted to make sure you got your book back. Not everyone is going to be as courteous as me by not reading it. And it was pretty obvious from your behavior earlier that the stuff in there is quite personal."

"So you were just waiting around for me to come back?"

"Is that so bad Bella?"

She gasped, "How do you know my name?"

He raised a curious eyebrow at her, then nodded towards the composition book. Instantly, Bella remembered the fact that her name was scrawled across the front in black Sharpie ink, along with repeated occurrences of "private" and "do not read".

A silly feeling came over her. "Never mind," she muttered. There was a long pause, and Bella shifted her weight uncomfortably. "Well thank you." She figured he was waiting for her to say that.

"You're welcome," he said pleasantly.

Bella turned on her heel to leave, but Edward's voice stopped her. "I know you didn't want anyone to hear you, but I just wanted to tell you that I truly enjoyed your song."

She squeezed her book tightly. "Don't ever play it again," she repeated, not turning around.

Edward chuckled, but not in a way that it appeared he was laughing at her. It was more of form or release if anything. Surprisingly enough, the laughter was comforting for Bella to hear. "I said I wouldn't," he said. "I just wanted you to know that it was very well written. I assume you wrote it yourself?"

Bella glanced over her shoulder at Edward. Now that her book was safely in her arms, she was becoming aware of other things. Like, for example, the fact that Edward was wearing a black marina that clung to him attractively and a pair of loose fitting dark grey sweats. She marveled the definition of his arms.

"Yes," she said finally, forcing herself to look away from him. "I wrote it myself."

"You're very good," Edward said. "I'd love to play for you sometime, while you practice."

"No!" she exclaimed, horrified at the idea. It was already too much that he had heard her music in the first place. He seemed surprised at her sudden outburst, so she took it down a notch when she spoke again. "I'm flattered but no."

He shrugged, and even that was a gracefully beautiful motion. "Why not?"

Bella clenched her book even tighter. "Just, no," she said pathetically. Then, she added quickly, "I don't want to keep you up any longer. Thank you again, good night."

Edward gave her a searching look. The intensity of his amber eyes kept her rooted to the spot. She felt as if she was trembling under the power of his gaze, but she couldn't bring herself to leave. But then, Edward's face molded into a warm smile. The trembling was instantly replaced with a melting feeling.

"Goodnight Bella." His voice had dropped several octaves and sent pleasant chills up her spine.

"Goodnight," she echoed softly. Then she left the room quickly before she began to pool in place.

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**Celine Dion, If That's What It Takes:: youtube .com/watch?v=D8ZOJj5ni44 (take out the spacing)**

**The chapter of my first Twilight fic completed! Please, I would really appreciate it if those who have read this would leave a review, so I can have feedback on how this was received. Cause I mean, if it seems like no one really likes it, or no one really cares about it, should I really continue writing it?**

**Anyway, the point is, reviews are always welcome. And I accept both the good and bad, so long as the bad are carefully constructed criticism, and aren't just unncessary flame.**

**--Brin--**


	2. Proposition

**Another chapter, hope you like!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, or any of its characters**

* * *

**Proposition**

Bella woke up the next morning, breathing heavily. To her surprise, there was a thin line of sweat along her hairline. Even more surprising, if not shocking, her legs were parted and her hand was resting between them. In an embarrassed rush, she pulled herself together, sitting up instantly and pulling her knees into her chest.

Bella had, undoubtedly, just woken up from the raciest, most erotic dream starring her and…Edward Cullen.

Flashes of the dream were still on her brain. Edward crawling onto her bed, wearing the incredibly appealing black marina, those powerful arms on either side of her body. Edward not wearing the black marina, and not wearing much of anything else, while he lay positioned between her legs. Edward's charming smile, nearing her face, those gorgeous eyes burning into her flesh. These were only snippets, of what was truly the most intense REM cycle Bella had ever experienced. She could have only hoped that the moans she cried in her dream were not cried out loud as well.

And yet, Bella was unsettled. She did not know Edward Cullen, and had only met him for the first time the day before, in what was one of the most uncomfortable situations possible. How did the awkwardness and uncertainty she had felt upon meeting the guy turn into the passion and ferocity she had dreamed up? She couldn't deny Edward's attractiveness, but she had felt way too nervous about him hearing her music to really grasp everything he had to offer physically. Or at least, so she thought. She seemed to have dreamed up the contrary.

Her roommate wasn't present in the room, though Bella wasn't surprised. In the first month of her freshman year here at Ambrose University, Bella grasped early on that her roommate, Jessica Stanley, had more important matters to tend to than spend time in their shared room. Not that Bella minded: the times she had spent with Jessica were less than desirable. And certainly after last night, she was more than grateful that Jessica had been absent. Jessica was one of the nosiest people Bella had ever encountered, and she knew that if Jessica had noticed something suspicious, she wouldn't let Bella live it down.

Then again, now that Bella's breathing and heart rate had slowed and she was thinking more clearly – the effects of her dream state wearing off, she thought now that maybe Jessica's presence wouldn't be so detestable right now. Surely Jessica would know more than enough information on Edward Cullen, and Bella was curious enough to listen to the girl harp on him for a few minutes.

As stroke of luck would have it, Jessica came bursting into the room. Her physical freshness made Bella aware of the fact that she not only looked unshowered, but frazzled from her dream events. Jessica didn't hesitate to point that out.

"Bella, you look horrible!"

"Thanks, Jess," Bella murmured.

"Are you just waking up?" Jessica asked as she came into the room. "It looks like you had a rough night."

_You have no idea, _Bella thought to herself. "I just haven't showered yet, is all," Bella told her. Then she said, "Do you know Edward Cullen?"

Jessica's light brown eyes widened in surprise. "Do I know Edward Cullen?" she gaped. "Who doesn't know Edward Cullen? He's only _the _hottest guy on campus."

Bella waited for her to continue, but Jessica just stared back at her, looking as if she had told Bella enough information for recognition to set in. It was obvious that nothing else was coming unless Bella asked. "Well, who is he?" Bella pressed.

Jessica rolled her eyes in a way as if she couldn't believe Bella could need any more information on – clearly – the most popular boy on the planet. "He's a junior here, and he plays for the lacrosse team. And he's a super talented musician. And he's fucking _hot _of course."

Well that only gave Bella a snippet more of who exactly Edward Cullen was. But then again, how could she expect superficial Jessica Stanley to ever want to know something substantial about another human being? It had probably been an effort for her even to find out he was a lacrosse player _and_ that he was a musician.

"Why do you care?" Jessica wanted to know.

Bella should have expected her to ask, but she still hadn't come up with anything clever to say in explanation. Which was bad, because she could see the inquisitive gears in Jessica's head turning, formulating their own ideas.

"You don't _like _him do you? Because I wasn't even under the impression that you _knew _him. I mean, you had to ask me who he was anyway, so like, what's up?"

It took Bella a minute to actually understand what she was trying to say, but once she got it all together, she replied, "No I don't like him, I was just wondering who he was. I don't really know him at all actually."

Jessica seemed hardly satisfied by this answer, but she didn't press. Instead she sauntered over to her side of the room and started sifting through her drawers. Bella glanced down at herself, realized she was still sitting in bed, and figured it was time to get up and take a shower.

Once she was showered and dressed in a white tank top and navy blue sweatpants, she headed for her dorm building's dining center. She still had an hour to her next class so she decided to have a late brunch beforehand. The dining center was empty save for those who worked as staff. Bella chose a chicken salad wrap and bottled water for a meal. As she went to take a seat, she heard people coming in behind her. To her personal horror, Edward Cullen was among the bunch. He hadn't noticed her yet, laughing with a small and attractive girl with short, spiky black hair. Bella saw this as an opportunity to duck out before he _did _notice her. But it seemed that just as the thought had come to her, and she started gathering her lunch together, he locked eyes with her, and she knew she was caught.

"Bella," he said softly.

His voice sent a warm rush to her cheeks. "Edward, hi," she replied in a tone not as smooth.

He smiled at her. The two of them came over to where she was standing while the others behind them went off in their own directions. Edward gestured to the girl next to him. "This is my sister, Alice. She's a sophomore here."

"Nice to meet you Alice," Bella said politely, stretching out her hand.

"You too," Alice said brightly, taking Bella's hand firmly. Bella was surprised that such a petite looking girl had such a strong grip. "Edward has told me so much about you."

Another flush covered the original one of Bella's face. "Oh?"

Alice grinned at her brother, who was now smiling…almost shyly? "He told me that you have a great singing voice," Alice explained. "You know, there's a winter music recital inn December. Just before Christmas break."

"Oh no," Bella said quickly. "I'm hardly that good."

Alice shook off Bella's comment. "Hardly anyone with talent actually goes. I mean, there's some talented people, but last year, someone went and played a series of songs from Guitar Hero III on expert." Alice shrugged. "It's really casual. If you're as good as Edward made you sound, you'd definitely be the most talented person there."

Bella found now that she was blushing furiously. Even Edward seemed to be shying away from Alice's boldness, but he was still smiling at Bella, which was continuing to warm her insides.

"I'm in charge of the recital," Alice said. "Let me know if you want to do a set."

"Thanks for the offer, but no thanks," Bella said. Then she explained, "I don't really like to play for others."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me your one of those people who are so humble about their talent that they don't like to share it."

"She writes her own stuff, and she almost had a heart attack when she thought I had read some of her work," Edward explained, looking directly at Bella when he said this.

Alice frowned. "Sounds like you're stuck up."

Bella bit her lip nervously. "It's not like that, I'm just–"

Suddenly Alice laughed, "I'm just playing with you Bells. You don't mind if I call you Bells do you?"

"Well my–"

Alice cut Bella off again, turning to speak to Edward. "Listen Eddie, I promised Jasper I'd meet him for coffee, so I'll have to catch up with you later." She then turned to Bella. "It was nice meeting you again," she said. "I hope I'll be seeing more of you."

Alice bounced out of the center, leaving Edward and Bella standing alone.

"Sorry if Alice seemed somewhat impulsive," Edward said, running a hand over his auburn locks. "She can be kind of jarring at first, but you learn to understand her for it."

Bella only smiled in response to his words. Edward shifted his weight and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "So, can I join you for lunch?" he asked.

"Well, I was just about to leave actually, when you guys came in," Bella started.

Edward raised an eyebrow at her. "You have a class or something?"

"Yeah, in about," Bella looked down at her watch. The truth was she still had forty-five minutes till her next class, but she said, "fifteen minutes."

Edward looked skeptical, but didn't comment on it further. Instead, he said, "Is there no way that I can play for you sometime?"

The question surprised Bella. "Play for me?"

"Play music with you, I should have said," Edward explained. Then he went on, "Truly, you have one of the most unique voices I've heard in a while. And you're clearly capable of writing music, even if the lyrics are kind of fluffed up."

Bella's heart dropped. "Fluffed up?"

Edward shrugged. "Romantic. Lovey-dovey if you will. But to each their own."

It was the exact response she was trying to avoid. Edward seemed to see her face paling, because he suddenly backpedalled. "Don't get me wrong, they were beautiful words–"

"Sorry, I can't play with you," Bella said firmly. "I don't share my 'fluff' with others."

"Don't misunderstand me," Edward said. "They were beautiful lyrics. I guess I've just never felt that way about someone else you could say, so to me their somewhat maudlin. But if you have someone in your life that means that much to you, then that's wonderful."

Embarrassment, and maybe even a hint of humiliation followed Bella's next statement. "I don't have a boyfriend or anything like that," she muttered.

Edward shrugged again. "Well that part is irrelevant anyway. I just want to play piano for you or something. I truly enjoyed toying with the song I had heard. What was it called?"

Bella hesitated. It was weird talking about her music – her mind was telling her to bolt. But her body seemed to be unattached to her brain at the moment. "It was called 'If That's What It Takes'," she whispered.

He nodded approvingly. "How long have you been writing your own music?"

"For about a year now or so I guess."

"I'd really love to collaborate with you on an occasion or two, at your discretion of course. We wouldn't have to play your music, if it upsets you so much. We could just play covers. Maybe one for the recital?"

Bella felt her heart seize at the thought. "No, no thank you," she said quickly.

He gave her a lingering look, golden eyes smoldering. "What's up with you and people hearing you sing? You do have a great voice you know, if you weren't sure."

What could Bella say? She knew that her voice was at least decent enough to be heard in public, she just happened to have developed an incurable case of shyness. Something about people – masses of people – watching and waiting on her every note…what if she were to fumble on her strings, or if her voice was to break? She didn't think she could handle the shame that followed making public mistakes.

Edward took her silence for what it was: a no. "Fine, no recital," he said. "Maybe you could just sing for me one night in the music building. We could go at night, so that no one else will hear you but me."

Bella glanced up at him, but couldn't hold the anxious intensity in his eyes. "No offense, but I'm not comfortable singing in front of people who I don't really know."

"But I've heard you singing already," Edward said playfully. "Doesn't that give me an opportunity to hear it again?"

"I had gone to music building on that particular day to be alone. I hadn't meant for you to hear me."

"Well that's why I suggested a late night meeting, so that no one _would _hear you," He smiled that pleasant smile of his. "Come on Bells," he added teasingly.

She winced. "I was trying to tell Alice before....my father calls me that."

Edward winced too. "Good to know. I'll be sure not to say that again."

A small smile came on her face. Most of the awkwardness she had initially felt with Edward had melted away. He made her comfortable, even though he was coming on strong about the music session. But instead of being able to say a flat out 'no' as she was accustomed to doing - this wasn't the first proposal she had ever received - she suddenly felt uncertain about whether or not she truly wanted to turn his offer down. Her mind floated back to when she heard him playing her music. As unsettling as it had made her once she recognized it as her own, she had been captured by the sheer beauty and skill of the melodies being played. And she did recall Jessica telling her earlier that Edward was a musician.

Edward glanced down at her watch. "I hope I haven't made you late," he said.

Bella glanced down at her watch as well. She still had ample time before her next class, but she told Edward that she had to be in class soon enough. "No not yet," she said. "But I should get going."

"Well maybe I'll see you later?" he asked her. "Maybe at around eleven-thirty, in the music building?"

Bella shrugged, but she was smiling. "Maybe," she said in a voice that sounded surprisingly flirtatious. "If I can find the time."

"You would leave me sitting alone in the music building would you?" he said.

His voice dropped considerably and he took a step towards her, immediately closing the gap between them. He was so close that a slight tilt forward would have her nose grazing the center of his chest.

Her face flushed at the thought, but she didn't step away from him. She just raised her head a bit higher. "I guess that would be wrong." Her tone was still flirtatious. "I suppose I could meet with you."

"And sing for me?"

"Well that much I can't promise just yet."

Edward smiled again, and Bella felt her knees weakening. Being this close to him, remembering her erotic dream about him, everything was making her own personal temperature rise. She found herself gazing into the smoldering gold of his eyes, and licking her lips absentmindedly.

"Well I don't want to keep you any longer," he said softly. "But I'm looking forward to tonight."

Secretly, and for reasons Bella didn't completely understand yet, so was she.

* * *

**Review please! I love feedback.**

**I'm in the midst of working on a few more chapters, but those who don't know me as a writer, should know that I'm good for updating. And I pretty much make it a point to finish all the fics I start, because I try not to leave readers hanging. But then again, if it feels like I have no readers, I might have to close this story early (AKA review)**

**See you all soon in the next chapter.**

**--Brin--**


	3. First Session

**Is this story likable? I can't tell...it doesn't seem to be playing over that way....**

**Well, I'm updating with another chapter, just to see if maybe I need more chappies to gain attention.**

**But I mean, I guess I just wonder outloud if it is or isnt (likable) because if it isnt, I'd rather not stress myself out to complete it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. I also own none of the components to the sogns "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton, or "If Walls Could Talk" by Celine Dion. I also claim no fame to the YouTube videos used in this and previous chapters: that's someone else's work.**

* * *

**First Session**

When eleven-fifteen came around, and Jessica was still in the bedroom, Bella got worried. She wasn't sure if she wanted to leave the dorm room with Jessica knowing she was gone. Jessica would never let hear the end of it, and Bella didn't really want to come up with a series of lies as answers right now. Her mind was already in a mess over Edward.

When he left her to attend her class, she ended up doubling back to her dorm room. She still had had thirty minutes to kill, and she was suddenly bursting with inspiration. Fifteen minutes later, she had lyrics covering a fresh page in her music book. And then following her class – and thankfully since Jessica was out – she ended up finishing up the song and putting music to it. Bella realized this was the first song she had been inspired to write due to a boy. Most of her music came from stories she had heard, or movies she had watched, or something of the sort. But while the words came from the tip of her pencil and onto the page, there was only one thing on her mind.

Edward.

His perfectly sculpted frame. The casual beauty of his smile. The smooth deep sound of his voice. Those incredibly entrancing eyes.

Edward, Edward, Edward. And the words were flowing.

By the time she was finished, her face had flushed an amazing shade of red. She had gotten carried away with the actually words she had come up with. They weren't unusual words when compared to other songs she had written. But when she threw the fact that she had been thinking about a particular someone – someone who wasn't an unattainable famous person, or untouchable on a television screen – it suddenly made the words seem much, _much_ more.

Even stranger, a small part of her wanted Edward to hear the song. Suddenly she wanted to get his opinion on it, and feel the rush of personally knowing that the song was about him, while he was blissfully unaware. The thought brought tingles to her body. Weird tingles, but pleasantly weird at the same time.

Her only problem right now was her roommate. Jessica was clearly going to leave the dorm at some point – she was hastily putting on makeup in her vanity mirror – but Bella felt she wasn't moving hastily enough. Now it was eleven-eighteen. She was supposed to meet Edward in the next twelve minutes.

Suddenly, Jessica looked at Bella in the mirror. "You know Bella, you could come with me if you want," she said. The offer surprised Bella, so she remained speechless. Not that Jessica gave her a chance to respond as she rambled on. "I mean, it's just a dorm room party. It's not going to be that many people. You can't stay the night like I can of course though." She smiled knowingly to herself at this point, and Bella mentally gagged. She knew that Jessica was thinking about Mike Newton – the guy who was holding the dorm party and who Jessica had hooked up with religiously every night since September. "But you should come anyway," Jessica said finally.

"No thanks," Bella replied. "I'm probably just going to start some research on my psych paper before going to bed."

"You know Bella, college isn't just about writing papers and playing guitar," Jessica said in a snappish tone.

Bella wanted to tell the girl that college also wasn't all about partying and having sex each and every night, but she held her tongue. It finally seemed like Jessica was getting tired of being in the room and was about to leave. And, thank God, with eight minutes to spare.

When Jessica did finally leave the room, Bella slipped into her flip flops and was ready to leave too. She had a black sweatshirt on to beat the night chill, and her guitar was already safely tucked inside its case. Also in the carrier, just in case the little part of her became a bigger one, was her lyric book.

Bella made it over to the music building four minutes after eleven-thirty. The entire building was silent. She went for the staircase, climbing for the room that she had met previously. A dim light – one that could not be produce by the overheads – was glowing from glass pane in the center of the closed door. When Bella opened it and went inside, she found Edward sitting behind the piano, looking at a pocket watch. The light came from a small lamp resting atop the piano.

"Sorry," she said. "I was waiting for my roommate to leave."

He glanced over at her, and even from the distance she could feel the fierceness of his gaze. His expression was somber, however, and he said, "I thought you were going to be a no-show."

"Sorry," Bella said again.

"Who's your roommate?" Edward asked her.

"Jessica Stanley."

Edward flinched. "I understand your reason for waiting."

Bella sighed in relief: at least she wasn't the only one who thought Jessica was a bug.

Edward nodded to her guitar case, "You brought your guitar? Are the ones the school provides not good enough for you?"

"No, it's not like that," she said. "I guess I'm just more comfortable on my own instrument than on someone else's. That sense of familiarity, if you can understand that."

"Yeah, I can understand that," he said. "But I suppose the difference between me and you is that I can't put a grand piano in a carrying case."

Bella laughed, and Edward chuckled with her. When a silence filled the air, Bella was suddenly aware of just how far away she was from Edward. The piano was tucked away on the left side of the room from the door. She grabbed a stool and music stand in her free hand and made her way over to him.

"So are you going to sing for me?" he asked her softly.

She blushed. "I'm not sure yet," she said as she took the guitar out of its case. Her composition book lay at the bottom of the case.

"You brought your lyric book?"

More red covered her cheeks. "Yeah, just in case."

"In case of what, pray tell?"

Bella was sure she could blush no further, and she absolutely couldn't look at him at this point, her eyes focused on her guitar strings. "I don't know, just in case," she echoed.

Edward didn't press her, but she caught out of the corner of her eyes the amused smile on his face. She watched as he placed his long and slender fingers on the ivory keys and pressed a couple of major chords. Her mind wandered naughtily as she watched his fingers – the length of them noticeable and graceful. Piano players were good with their fingers. She imagined his elsewhere than on the piano keys. Suddenly it was becoming hot around her again.

"So tell me a song that you know," he said. "Something we can play together." He looked at her with liquid topaz eyes. "Something you might even sing for me."

Bella adjusted her guitar in her lap. "I doubt you know anything that I can play, and especially sing."

"Well with a voice like yours, I'm sure you can sing any song you want," Edward said softly, making her skin warm. "And as for something you know…"

To her surprise, he began rattling off the opening notes to Vanessa Carlton's 'A Thousand Miles'. And with the same effortlessness as Ms. Carlton herself. By the time he got to the part when Vanessa came in with lyrics, Bella couldn't stop herself. She started strumming on her guitar, and opened her mouth to sing.

_  
Making my way downtown_

_Walking fast_

_Faces past, and I'm homebound_

_Staring blankly ahead, just making my way_

_Making a way through the crowd_

_  
I need you, and I miss you_

_And now I wonder_

_  
If I could fall into the sky_

_Do you think time would pass me by?_

_Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles_

_If I could just see you_

_Tonight_

The two of them jammed the interlude together, but Edward stopped playing before she could get to the second verse. He looked up at her, smiling warmly.

"You really do have a beautiful voice."

Bella blushed. "I'm already here, you don't have to butter me up any further," she joked.

He laughed softly, then nodded to her composition book. "What's the just in case about? Don't think I've forgotten."

She glanced at him. The intensity in his eyes made her nervous – he was still a stranger, even if it was one she was attracted to, and she had never shown _anyone _her music before. If anyone should see it, it certainly should be someone closer to her. And at the same time, the intensity in his eyes made her excited. She felt like he was daring her something, and she wanted to rise to the occasion.

She felt her hand trembling as she reached down to the book, and knew Edward would realize it was trembling as well as the pages rattled noisily as she opened them. She already had the words and notes to the song she had written today memorized, as she had spent of her free time with it today, so she handed the book to Edward. He took it, but didn't look down. That fact – that small sign of respect – made her smile.

"It was something that I've been working on," she told him. She didn't necessarily need to tell him that the 'working' had been all day today. "We can play it together, if you feel like you can read my notations."

He still kept his eyes on hers, and she gave him a reassuring smile. Finally, those golden eyes dropped, scanning the page with immense speed. He practiced some on the piano – just striking random recognizable notes – before turning to her.

"Whenever you're ready."

Bella took a deep breath. This was it. He had already seen the music, and now she was going to play for him. Even though her heart was beating so fast and so loud that she was certain she wouldn't be able to hear her own voice and guitar, let alone Edward's accompaniment, she still started working her fingers. She gave Edward a minute to fall into a groove with her, took a deep breath, and then begun:

_  
These walls keep a secret_

_That only we know_

_But how long can they keep it?_

_Cause we're two lovers, we lose control_

_  
We're two shadows_

_Chasing rainbows_

_Behind closed windows_

_Behind closed doors_

_  
If walls could talk, oooh,_

_They would say I want you more_

_They would say_

_Hey, have you felt like this before?_

_And that you'll always be the one for me_

Slowly, with every word, Bella's nerves were melting away. Edward's soft piano music was comforting to her ears, and a sense of pride overcame her that the beauty he was playing from her music book.

_  
Two people making memories_

_Just too good to tell_

_These songs are never ending_

_When we're lying where we fell_

_  
We're painting pictures_

_Making magic_

_Taking chances_

_Making love_

_  
If walls could talk, oooh,_

_They would say I want you more_

_They would say_

_Hey, have you felt like this before?_

_And that you'll always be the one for me_

_  
If the walls had eyes_

_Mine they would see the love in sight_

_They would see, me_

_In your arms in ecstasy_

_And with every move they'd know I love you so_

_  
When I'm feeling weak_

_You give me wings_

_When the fire has no heat_

_You light it up again_

_When I hear no violins_

_You play my every string_

_Just stop the press_

_Hold the news_

_The secret is safe between me and you_

_Walls, can you keep a secret?_

_  
If walls could talk, oooh,_

_They would say I want you more_

_They would say_

_Hey, have you felt like this before?_

_And that you'll always be the one for me_

_  
If the walls had eyes_

_Mine they would see the love in sight_

_They would see, me_

_In your arms in ecstasy_

_And with every move they'd know I love you so_

_I love you so_

_  
Oooh, I love you baby_

_Oooh baby_

_Love you, love you, love you so honey_

_Love you, love you, love you so_

_In your arms in ecstasy_

_If they could see you and me, only you and me baby_

_Just you and me baby_

The ending notes of her song faded into the air as they both came to similar halts in their playing. Suddenly silence overcame the room. The silence was followed by the increased and loud beating of Bella's heart. The nerves that had so easily melted away came by with the same ease. Edward wasn't looking at her, his eyes still downcast on her book. She had the urge to snatch the book from its stand and run away, and then act as if the night had never happened. All of a sudden, she felt more than just exposed – she felt really damn naked.

Then Edward released a long exhale and those beautiful eyes lifted to meet hers. The warmth in his gaze eased her worries almost instantaneously. "That was a pleasure to play Bella," he whispered.

She blushed. "Thanks."

"And it was a pleasure hearing you sing as well," he said. "For that, I thank you."

More blushing.

Edward handed her book back, and their hands touched for a moment in the exchange. An electrical charge surge through her veins at the contact. Edward's hand lingered on hers for a moment longer, but he finally released the book. Bella almost dropped it, caught up in the feeling of Edward's fingers on her skin. She nervously put the book back in the case, then pulled her fingers through her long dark brown hair.

"I guess it would be too much to ask you to play another song," he said playfully once the book was back in the case.

Bella didn't think she could handle playing another one of her pieces. She was already a turbulent mess over the first one. But Edward's understanding expression showed her that there was no pressure. He closed the case on the piano keys and stood up.

"I should probably walk you back to your dorm."

The two of them hadn't been out together long, only about twenty minutes, but Bella felt as if she had spent hours upon hours in that room with Edward. As they walked side by side back to her dorm building, him carrying her guitar case, Bella's mind ran wild. She was still thinking about the way his fingers floated over the keys, the intensity in his amber eyes as he read her music. Her mind wandered further on thoughts of his strong sturdy frame being no more than a few millimeters away from hers and imagined those fingers dragging down her bare arms.

Her attraction to him was undeniable, but the musical exposure she had just performed for him left her feeling nervous. But it was a unexpected nervous: one she found herself thoroughly enjoying.

He walked her right up to her door and then handed the case over. He pushed his hand through his hair again, but it retained its attractive messiness. "Thanks again for tonight, Bella," he said. "I really enjoyed playing your music."

"I actually enjoyed hearing you play it," she said.

"You say that as if you thought I was going to do it an injustice."

Bella shook her head. "Not that, just…I've never played my music for anyone other than me before. And I certainly haven't ever had someone play my music for _me. _It's a new experience I guess."

"Well I'm glad I could be the one who shares in this new experience."

Suddenly his hand was coming towards her. An involuntary reaction caused Bella to sharply take in breath, and then hold it. His fingers grazed the skin of her face, then pushed her hair behind her right ear. Just as quickly as it arrived, the hand left her skin.

"Good night Bella," he said softly.

"Goodnight," she stammered out.

Edward stepped back enough for her to open her door, and Bella hurried inside, closing the door behind her. The side of her face where there had been contact was burning pleasantly. She could feel the makings of a wide smile fighting its way to her face. And her heart was beating rapidly again.

Something told her tonight's REM cycle was going to be much like the last's.

* * *

**Vanessa Carlton, "A Thousand Miles" :: www. youtube. com/watch?v=Sg0CeRog-yQ (Take out spaces)  
Celine Dion, "If Walls Could Talk" :: www. youtube. com/watch?v=yu5VmJGTMos (Take out spaces)**

**Leave a review if you liked this. Leave a review and tell me what you didn't like. I suppose any kind of communication so I can know how this story is being received by the public would be nice.**

**Until my next (pending) chapter,**

**--Brin--**


	4. Learning More

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any properties associated with Twilight.**

* * *

**Learning More**

The next time Bella actually spoke Edward, it had been a total of four nights since their music session. She had seen him in passing often enough – across the quad walking with Alice and friends, sitting in on-campus cafés by himself, studying in the back of the library – but she couldn't bring herself to actually approach him. And anytime she was certain he might feel her watching him, she ducked into hiding. The erotica that was plaguing her mind at night was making impossible to face him in the daylight with a calm demeanor.

But Edward eventually caught up with her game of hide and seek. While she and Angela were in the campus library, trying to find a book for their sociology class, she felt a hand gently grasp her arm. In her gasp, she was spun around and brought to face a pair of sharp gold eyes.

"Are you avoiding me Bella?" Edward asked her.

His voice was light and playful, but the question hit close enough to home to make Bella feel unsettled. That in addition to the warming of her skin at the touch did nothing to make the situation easier for her.

"No," she stammered out.

"I feel like I haven't seen you all week."

Bella swallowed, then glanced at Angela. She was staring at both of them in surprise, her mouth slightly ajar. Bella turned her attention back to Edward, his gaze still as intense as always. She swallowed again.

Edward looked away from her for a moment, and turned to Angela. "Do you mind if a borrow Bella for a couple minutes and take her out to lunch?" he asked her politely.

Angela's eyes widened futher, but she quickly composed herself. "Sure, of course Edward," she replied quietly.

He smiled at her. A surprise rush of envy went through Bella at the gesture, but it soothed itself when his attention returned to her. "Shall we?"

Bella didn't think she was allowed to protest, because the hand that was grasping her arm had slipped down to her hand and clasped it tightly, and Edward pulled her away. Bella was only vaguely aware of where they were going, much too focused on Edward's hand in hers and the people who were watching them as they crossed the area. The girls they passed started whispering suspiciously to each other, while the guys were thoroughly checking her out, probably trying to place just what exactly Bella was to Edward. Bella was trying to place that herself.

The raciest of her dreams – daydreams as well – were surprising to her. Surely she had dreamed about intimacy before, and even scribbled down a couple of erotic fantasies when she was inspired to do so. But the gravity of the ones she was having about this male in front of her was nothing like her usual. She had already pictured Edward's hands all over her body, those long fingers caressing her skin, cupping her breasts. She had mentally envisioned those full lips of his tracing every area of flesh she had to offer, including the area between her legs. She woke from these dreams sexually bothered and needy. It was for that reason she had been, admittedly, avoiding Edward. She was afraid of how she would act in front of him.

Even now, as the two of them arrived in a mostly empty campus café, Bella mentally wished for Edward to sweep her off her feet and onto the ordering counter.

"This is one of my favorite places on campus," Edward told her as he walked her to the counter. "One of the quietest cafés. Sometimes you just want to be away from everyone. And I figured here we could talk openly about your music."

Bella smiled at his consideration, but the initial lust she had been feeling was starting to be replaced with shyness. Even though it had been so long since their music session, Bella still felt somewhat exposed from the whole situation. Edward said that he liked playing for her, but he didn't tell her what he had thought of the lyrics. He had said before that he thought they were 'fluffed up', yes, but she didn't give him a chance to expand on that idea. Now that she had consented to playing him a full song – a song that she had ended up composing because of him – she wanted, kind of, to hear just what his thoughts were, even if it was going to be more "fluffed up" talk. At the same time, she was afraid for what he could say.

Edward ordered a large chicken garden salad for them to split, then asked Bella if she wanted anything in particular to drink. Bella asked for fruit punch while Edward got himself a glass of water. Soon the two of them were sitting down at one of the tables with their lunch between them.

"I hope you don't mind," he said, gesturing to the salad.

"Oh no, it's fine," Bella said with a small smile. She stuck her fork tentatively into the center of the dish, and then put the edge of it in her mouth, slowly chewing the lettuce leaves.

Edward followed suit, though not as tentatively. Bella watched the muscles in his jaw clench and relax as he chewed, then felt silly for watching. She needed to get a grip.

"So where have you been?" he asked. "I feel like I haven't seen you around anywhere."

"Just been busy," Bella said as smoothly as possible. "With school work and stuff."

"It's only been a month and some change since the semester started," Edward said. "How much work could you be under already?"

"Well, I'm double majoring," Bella said, "in psychology and sociology."

"Double major, impressive." Edward nodded approvingly. "I'm double majoring myself. Finance and marketing."

Bella thought about all the things she knew she'd buy if only Edward Cullen told her to do so. "You'd make a great marketer," she told him.

He let out an easy laugh. "Thanks."

A short pause passed, then Edward asked, "So why'd you chose Ambrose?"

Bella shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to get away from home," she said.

"What's wrong with home?"

"Nothing really, I just wanted to get away. You know, when you just want to give yourself a chance to grow? I guess that's what it was like. My mother is a serious worrywart sometimes, and even though being out her drives her crazy, being out her keeps me away from her craziness as well."

"Where are you from?"

"Arizona."

Edward nodded. "You are a good deal away from home."

"Are you from around here?" Bella asked him.

"Yes ma'am, born and raised in New York," he replied. "I guess I just never had that urge to leave home."

"If I was from around here, I wouldn't want to leave either."

"Winters are bitter as hell over here though."

Bella toyed with a piece of chicken in the salad, then gently stabbed it and put it in her mouth. It was at this point that she realized Edward was watching her. His beautiful amber eyes simmered at her skin. Without knowing why, she started blushing. He smiled.

"So, why do you write love songs?"

The red on her face became more prominent. "I don't know," she murmured.

"Come on now, you know," Edward pressed.

She swallowed slowly and kept her eyes down. Even though Bella had been waiting for him to ask about her music, she certainly hadn't expected this question in particular. And she didn't have a real answer: not one she was willing to reveal to someone who she was, as of late, having intense fantasies about.

"I just write them," she replied pathetically.

"Because they're easy to write?" he gauged, clearly not settling for her lame answer.

"Because," she took a deep breath, "I mean, they aren't _easy _to write per say. Unless I'm inspired to write. I mean, if I'm trying to write something for writing's sake then it's kinda hard. But if something inspires me–"

"Well what inspires you?" He asked her, quickly latching on to a new interest.

Bella still couldn't look at him, especially now. "Just stuff."

She heard him laugh. "You're a tough one to crack Bella Swan."

She shrugged. "I guess I'm not used to talking about my music with people I don't really know."

"Well how can I be someone that you really know?" he asked.

Bella blushed again. "I don't know." She was starting to feel like a high school freshmen instead of a college one.

"Well how about this. Later tonight, you and I go into town for dinner, and you can get to know me, and then we can finally talk about your music the way I'd like to."

She glanced up at him. His expression seemed earnest. "Why are you so interested in my music, anyway?" Bella asked him, curious.

He smiled at her, but this one differed from all the others she had ever seen him give. This one carried a provocative edge to it, similar to ones she had imagined him giving her countless of times in her dreams. "I like what I see," he said. "And I'm trying to get inside of you by any means possible."

The words sent a shiver over her skin. Luckily she had swallowed her food already, or else she would have choked. The simple suggestiveness of his words was enough to make her puddle at his feet. Instead she whispered, "And you think talking about music will help?"

"Well I see it this way. You're clearly someone who's passionate about music. You're also someone who's very private about it. Both of those aspects intrigue me, since they seem…almost contradictory in my book. You're talented, and yet you hide this talent. I just want to find out what makes you tick." He shrugged casually, but his next sentence was all but causal: "You also happen to be unbelievably attractive, which is a plus."

Bella choked at the statement, possibly just on her own saliva, since nothing was in her mouth then either. Edward thought _she _was attractive? Bella, with her rumpled dark brown hair, average body and lackluster features? Edward, standing at the epitome of gorgeousness while maintaining an enviable cool that most good-looking guys seem to lose? Something about _that _seemed contradictory.

"So you'll join me for dinner, around nine o' clock?"

Bella was still reeling on being attractive – unbelievably at that – that she forgot he was asking her to dinner. But at the sound of his voice she was brought back to earth. "Yeah, sure, of course," she stammered out. "Where do you want to meet?"

"East Student Parking Lot," he told her. "I'll drive." Edward stood up at this point. "I hope you don't find me rude for having to leave, but my finance seminar starts in five minutes." He smiled at her again. "But I'm looking forward to tonight."

That was the second time he had said he was looking forward to seeing her. Bella was going to have to start believing him.

By the time eight-thirty rolled around, Bella had already showered and was sifting through her closet for something to wear. She was so preoccupied with deciding between a simple black dress or her dark wash jeans and a sea-green top, that she hadn't noticed when Jessica came in.

But Jessica clearly noticed that Bella was up to something because she asked, "Are you going somewhere?"

Bella nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, to dinner."

"With Edward Cullen?"

Bella looked up in surprise. "How'd you know?"

Just as the words let Bella's throat, she thought they were silly. Jessica lived for other people's business. The real question was how she found out so soon. It had only been a couple of hours since the arrangements were made.

"I thought you said you didn't like him," she said speculatively.

"I don't," Bella replied, but she didn't look at Jessica when she said this.

"So why are you guys going to dinner together?"

Was there some rule against eating with people? "Because he asked me to go," she said.

Jessica's eyes widened. "_He _asked _you._"

Bella understood Jessica's shock at that: Bella herself was still rattled by Edward's interest in her. But she also thoroughly enjoyed it.

She turned her attention back to the clothes laid out on her bed. The upside to the dress was that it was just casual enough to pass for a sports bar, but formal enough to be worn at a place of high class. Especially if she decided to squeeze her feet into the one pair of black pumps that she owned. It was a wide strap dress, with an empire waist, and a full skirt that fell just above her knees. The band around the empire waist was decorated with black sequins. Deciding this would be the best route, while simultaneously wishing Edward had told her what kind of occasion she should have dressed for in the first place, she pulled the dress on over her head.

"You know, I hear that Edward can act like a real man whore at times," Jessica said. "Especially when it comes to the freshmen. He basically preys on them. I've been talking to people, and they say that this nice guy routine he's giving you is classic Edward. Several girls in the sophomore class say last year they got the same treatment, and now," Jessica paused dramatically, "he doesn't even speak to them."

Bella raised her eyebrow at her roommate. If this was Jessica's best attempt to…who knows what she was trying to imply? It sure as hell wasn't working. "We're just going to dinner as friends, Jess."

"I'm just trying to be a good roommate and look out for you. I'd want you to do the same for me."

"Thanks Jess," Bella murmured.

"Do you want me to wait up for you?"

Suddenly she wanted to be best friends? "No, that's okay," Bella insisted. "I shouldn't be that late anyway."

"Alright," Jessica said.

Bella grabbed a black jacket and left her room before Jessica could drill something else into her, or drill for something to come out. The East Student Parking Lot, thankfully, wasn't too far from her dorm building – Bella wasn't sure how far she could walk in these heels. She spotted Edward leaned against a sleek silver 2009 Volvo. He was dressed in a pair of slim-fitting dark wash jeans, a beige sweater and a black sports coat. The accenting of the breadth of his shoulders and the slimness of his frame in the clothes was enough to make Bella tremble. Surely it was a crime, _somewhere_, to look this good.

"Hey." To Bella's pleasant surprise, his eyes regarded her in the same way she had regarded him. She blushed at the thought of Edward not only checking her out, but liking what she had to offer. "You look good."

"Thanks," she said.

"I hope you're hungry."

He opened the passenger's door for her, then walked around to get in on the driver's side. As he started up the car, Bella took in the lavish interior of the vehicle itself. Clearly Edward was well-off.

"It's new," he said, referring to the car, as they pulled off campus and onto the road. He added with a light chuckle, "Still has that new car smell and everything."

"How much did it cost?" The question surprised Bella, and she suddenly felt rude. "You don't have to answer that," she added quickly.

Edward smiled slightly. "Whatever you're guessing is probably right," he told her. "My family and I are…in good financial position. My father is a well-known doctor."

The significance of his sentence hit her hard. "Not Dr. Carlisle Cullen?" Bella said in disbelief.

Edward nodded. "My father."

Dr. Cullen was more than a well known doctor, he was incredibly successful to the point of fame. He not only dominated the tri-state area with his practice, but he was constantly on call for various Hollywood starlets who were looking for "touch ups". He was the most versatile man in medicine, and already appeared on covers of several magazines, not to mention a couple of top tens when it came to sexy and successful.

Thinking back on the pictures or Dr. Cullen, then glancing at Edward, Bella struggled to find a resemblance. They were both handsome men of course, but that was about it. Bella felt it could potentially be awkward if she brought it up. Edward glanced over at her, noticing her silence. He must have read the speculation on her face, because then he said, "My adoptive father I should have said. I never knew my real parents."

"I'm sorry," Bella said instinctively.

"Don't be," Edward said. "I love Carlisle and Esme. She's my mother. They've always been my parents to me."

"Is Alice adopted as well?"

Edward nodded again. "Only a year after my adoption. So we grew up together becoming very close." Edward smiled to himself. "We were always a happy family. It's part of the reason I didn't want to leave home."

The remainder of the drive was relatively short – they pulled into a cozy-looking restaurant only fifteen minutes after leaving. Bella felt her clothing choice had been a good one. Once they were seated and ordered drinks, Edward smiled at Bella.

"Maybe one day I'll take you out to meet my parents, and you can sing for them too," he suggested.

Bella blushed. "I don't think so."

He pouted playfully. "Why are you so nervous about singing in front of others? The whole point to being an artist is to share your work."

"I will someday," Bella said. "Maybe when I'm older."

"How old are you now?"

"Nineteen."

"That's pretty old to me."

Bella had already deduced that Edward had to be at least twenty-one: he had ordered something alcoholic, and was cleared when he showed his ID. "You have to be older than me," she teased.

"Two years older to be exact." So he was exactly twenty-one. "But I share my work with others."

"I've never heard anything of yours."

"Do you want to? I'd be happy to play something for you. Maybe _I'll _even sing."

Bella laughed at the way he emphasize his last sentence. "I'm not laughing at you," she said quickly.

"I'm sure."

"I just didn't know you sang."

"I don't, I was just teasing. But I'll play something good anyway."

Bella sighed once she had herself composed. "Do you only play piano?"

Edward shook his head. "And guitar. And cello. And violin. I'm a regular one-man orchestra. It's part of having really wealthy adoptive parents. They want to make up for not being your original parents, so they try to give you everything your own parents couldn't give you. Add the money into it, and you end up doing just about everything." Edward paused. "I'm not complaining though. It was never by force. They had wanted me to learn trumpet, but I didn't find anything sexy about that particular instrument."

Bella laughed again, feeling completely at ease. "I'm sure someone of your stature could have made the trumpet sexy."

"Why Bella, if I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were trying to allude to being attracted to me," he teased.

Bella blushed slightly. "Good thing you know better," she teased back.

"That's hurts." The playful pout returned and he splayed a hand on his chest.

Their drinks came, followed shortly after their respective meals. Edward managed to keep the conversation light and flowing, maintained the promise he had made early about talking about himself. And in all honestly, Bella found herself truly coming to understand him a little better. He talked about his relationship with his family ("I love them all"), his friends ("I'm pretty much only cool with Emmett and Jasper, Alice's boyfriend. Everyone else is filler"), even past girlfriends ("I've only ever had one serious relationship, the rest were more or less meaningless").

That last part unnerved Bella some, and unfortunately, her mind went back to what Jessica had said about Edward and his 'preying'. Could Jessica actually have been accurate? The idea itself seemed ludicrous - Jessica being right that is - but Edward had admitted himself that he had had casual affairs more than once before.

"How do you know when things are serious?" Bella asked him once he sent the waiter away with the check.

"I can just tell," Edward said. "Something feels different. It's like, I don't just want to hook up with the chick; I actually want to spend time with her. And get to know her. Things like that." He lowered his eyes suggestively at her. "For example, I enjoy spending time with you, and I want to get to know you."

Bella's face reddened for the umpteenth that night. "Are you trying to say that you're getting serious about me?"

Edward didn't say anything, but Bella felt that maybe he just didn't need to. They got up from the table in silence and went out to the car. The drive back to campus was filled with the music from the radio. At one point Bella thought she heard Edward humming along to the songs, and the sound of his voice was deep and soothing. When they returned to the parking lot, Edward got out first to walk around open the door for Bella.

"I'm really glad you came out with me tonight," Edward told her as they walked towards her dorm building. "I enjoyed our conversation."

"I did too," Bella replied. Then she added softly, "I feel like I know you a lot better."

Edward smiled to himself. "Mission accomplished, then."

Bella smiled as well. Once the two of them reached Bella's room door, Bella turned to place the key in the lock. Her back had been facing Edward at the point when he heard his voice, soft and husky:

"Bella."

She turned around slowly. "Yes, Edward?"

It didn't take her long to analyze the situation and then predict what was happening next – only about half a second. Edward had somehow, while her back was turned, silently closed the distance between them and was now only millimeters away from her. His golden eyes were lowered as his head craned closer to hers. Bella's eyelids fluttered downward just in time for the contact.

Two seconds. Only two seconds, maybe even three, but no more – Edward's lips were pressed against hers. The kiss was all innocent – a simple closed lip kiss. But even with the simplicity, the act was enough to make Bella's legs gelatinize. It was the longest and most blissful two seconds of her life. The only reason she knew it was over was because she heard the sound of Edward's smooth voice. But in her mind, his touch lingered.

"Goodnight Bella," he said.

She might have stammered out a goodbye, or she might have not. She wasn't sure. When she was safe inside her room, door closed behind her and Edward away, the longest and happiest sigh left her throat. The sigh was followed by the giddiest smile possible.

* * *

**Still giving this story a chance, hopefully my hard work will not be in vain.**

**Leave a review, I'd appreciate it.**

**--Brin--**


	5. Second Session

**I forgot to mention, this little habit I have. The word I use for "wife-beater" is "marina". So any time Edward has been described as wearing a "marina", hes really wearing the equivalent of a "wife beater". I hope there wasn't much confusion while reading.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight or any of its characters. Also, I don't own any of the components of the Celine Dion song, "A New Day Has Come"**

* * *

**Second Session**

"Are you and Edward going out?"

The question should have come as a surprise to Bella, but she had been contemplating the same concept to herself for ten days exactly that hearing Angela asking it out loud just confirmed that she was crazy for speculating it.

Still, Bella wasn't sure how to respond, so she shrugged. Even if she had a good idea of what was going on between her and Edward, she was pretty certain that she didn't want to share that knowledge with Jessica lurking around in the room. She was on her bed, pretending not to listen this whole time, but she suddenly perked up attentively at Angela's question.

"You and Edward Cullen are going out?" she exclaimed.

Bella wanted desperately to roll her eyes, but she resisted the notion. "I don't know," she said.

"I guess I'm just asking because I always see you two together nowadays," Angela said. "And when you're not with him, you're with Alice, who's his baby sister. I mean, it kinda looks like he's trying to assimilate you into his life or something."

Bella knew where Angela was going at. She and Edward had been spending a lot of time together since the night they went out to dinner together. Most occasions were kept casual – lunch on campus, walks in town, a movie in a dorm common room. Other occasions, though, felt not as casual. For example, they had gone to dinner twice following the first time, and each time felt like they were on a date. Edward never offered the bill in her direction, his gaze never flounced around at other girls, and every night ending in a classic kiss goodnight. Kisses that never ceased to be exciting.

Even though he was affectionate enough to raise suspicion while they were in public – he held her hand, or keep his palm placed gently on the small of her back – he never did kiss her in public. And he never made it seem like they were going out. Alice, who had also sparked heavy interest in Bella and invited her all over town for lunch whenever it was convenient for both their schedules, guessed that Edward liked her, and was just waiting for the right time to make it official.

"Let me put it this way," Alice had said. "I've seen how he treats girls that he's not all that interest in. You know the type, girls he just wants to 'hit and quit' if you will. And he doesn't treat you like that at all. But sometimes," Alice sighed, "it takes Edward longer to realize that he really likes a girl than anyone else. I mean, I could tell he was into you from the time he introduced us. Just wait it out Bells, you'll see."

Bella never really had the heart to tell Alice about the 'Bells' thing, and after a while the nickname started to grow on her anyway, so there was no need for an unnecessary dispute. Bella wanted to get close to Alice: she was just the right amount of fun without being over the wall. And she clearly had no shame in sharing her insights when it came to her older brother and his relationship with Bella.

But even with Alice's thoughtful insights on the whole ordeal, it still left Bella wary. She certainly didn't want everything to turn out in a way that she had just been one of the casual affairs. But at the same time, she had no interest in potentially ruining what was happening between her and Edward by bringing up the topic.

So she sat in limbo, awkward and confused about it all.

"I really have no idea what's going on," Bella said, referring to Angela's comment. "I mean, Alice thinks he likes me, but there's no way of really knowing."

"Alice _Cullen_? Are you talking about _Alice Cullen_?" Jessica's voice was laced with disbelief.

Bella rolled her eyes this time, but Jessica didn't seem to notice. This was _really not _a conversation she wanted to have with Jessica in the room. "Since when did you and Alice Cullen become friends?" Jessica asked. "I wasn't even under the impression that she would know someone like _you_."

Bella ignored the vindictiveness in Jessica's voice. "Her and I are cool," was all that Bella said.

"And well she and _Edward_ _are _hanging out now," Angela said in an obvious tone. "It's only natural for Edward to introduce the two of them at one point. Everyone knows Edward loves his baby sister."

Bella smiled at the thought. It was really clear that Edward and Alice were impossibly close. They even finished each other's thoughts – it could be somewhat jarring at times. But even then, Bella wished she had had a younger or older sibling whenever she saw the two of them interact – their relationship was close enough to make anyone jealous.

"I guess," Jessica said quietly, but Bella could tell that the girl was peeved. She was probably having a hard time understanding why her 'loser' of a roommate was suddenly getting 'in' with the 'in crowd'.

In a way, Bella was still taken off guard about it all as well. Not because she thought she was a loser or anything like that, but mainly because she simply couldn't believe a guy like Edward had taken an interest in her. Not when he clearly was the most wanted guy on campus, and there were girls who were willing to be his hook-up buddies if only for a night or two. Yet Edward was still doting on her, and they hadn't even shared a real kiss yet. Lots of closed mouthed pecks yes, but nothing that made her loins burn….

…Okay, that was somewhat of a lie, because Edward _in general _made her loins burn. But something was telling her that his weren't burning back just yet.

It was as if all this talk and thought on Edward Cullen sent enough psychic messages to his brain, because in the following moment, he was ringing her cell phone. "Hey," Bella said when she answered.

"Hey," he said pleasantly. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing really, just hanging out with Angela," she replied, since she wasn't truly hanging out with Jessica - she was just hanging around nosily.

"Is it terribly important that you keep hanging out with her? I want to see you."

Bella blushed at the words: she loved it when he said that. "I'd have to ask," Bella said, but Angela was already gesturing obsessively for her to go along with Edward. "But something tells me I'll be able to make it," she added with a giggle.

"Cool. Come over to Cypress and I'll grab you from there."

Bella raised a speculative eyebrow even though he couldn't see her. Cypress was one of the names of the dorm buildings on campus. "Cypress as in the campus building?" she asked just to be sure.

"Yeah, that's where I board," he explained. "I'm chilling in my room right now, and I suddenly started craving company."

He said the words very casually, but already Bella's heart tempo had increased dramatically. His room? "Um, okay," she said in a not-so-smooth tone.

Edward seemed not to notice. "Bring your guitar too, so we can play. And maybe your music book? But that last part is up to you."

"Okay," Bella repeated. She was answering on automatic, because her brain had shut down once she grasped she was going to his room.

"Okay, call me when you're outside so I can come get you."

He hung up before she did, mainly because she was still holding the phone motionlessly against her ear. Then finally, when her brain turned back on, she lowered the device.

"What's up?" Angela asked in a curious tone.

"He wants me to come to his room," Bella whispered.

Both girls' – Angela and nosy Jessica – eyes widened in surprise. Jessica, as usual, spoke first. "Edward Cullen asked you to come to his room?"

Even though the girl's irritating catchphrases were enough to make Bella want to chew nails, for once, she understood the gravity of the situation that Jessica was envisioning. She glanced down at her attire, suddenly greatly aware of the fact that she was braless and wearing incredibly short white spandex.

"Should I change?" Bella asked Angela.

"No," Jessica answered. "If you do that, you're going to seem eager. And you don't want to appear eager, it's not attractive."

Bella couldn't believe she was actually about to ask Jessica Stanley for advice, but the question had come out before she had a chance to stop it. "What do you think I should do?"

Jessica looked thoughtfully for a second, but Bella also noticed the smirk of pride at being asked for help. "Well," she began slowly. "You have to remember, that this doesn't necessarily mean he's going to make a move on you. For all we know, he might be calling you in there to break off whatever you two kinda have going on, and he's just choosing to do it in private."

Angela scowled. "Would you get on with it?"

Jessica stuck out her tongue. "Well just go and do whatever you guys normally do. If he makes a move, then reciprocate. If he doesn't then you shouldn't either. And if you change your clothes, you're just going to mess everything up. Pull on a pair of sweats and now you look like one of the guys."

"Can't I at least put on a bra?"

Jessica scoffed as if that was the worst idea ever, but she said, "Fine, if you must."

Bella chose a black sports bra and pulled on her favorite grey sweatshirt, trying to down her extreme exposure. Then she told herself to calm down – maybe she was overanalyzing things. She and Edward had hung out alone and in private many a times before, and nothing serious ever came of it. Just because they were going to be in his bedroom didn't mean much.

…She thought.

She brought her guitar, and music book, and walked over to Cypress, calling Edward once she was in the common room. He appeared a couple minutes later, wearing nothing but a pair of loose fitting grey sweats. Bella's eyes immediately took in the perfect sight of his sculpted center: the solid ridges of his abdomen. She didn't even fight the reddening of her face – it would be a pointless battle.

"Hey," he said, breaking her from her obvious stare. When she looked up, there was amusement in his eyes. "You almost ready to go or do you have more observing to get done?"

Bella was pretty sure her face resembled a tomato. "No, we can go," she murmured shyly.

He took the guitar case from her in one hand, and took hers in his other. They took the elevator to level twelve. Bella knew for a fact that all the levels above ten in the dorm buildings were singles. This knowledge made her already peaked nerves skyrocket further.

When they arrived at Edward's room, it was – as Bella suspected – a single. Singles were the size of normal doubles but without the second bed. Edward's room surprised her. It was quite clean for a guy she thought, and the simplistic décor made it feel homey. And then there were the instruments. Set up in the corner which would have been Jessica's side of the room had they been in Bella's room was a miniature music room. There was a drum set, a keyboard and a couple of string instrument cases.

Edward must have noticed her checking out his equipment because he said, "I know I said that I wasn't able to carry my instruments around before, but I did try."

"You succeeded," Bella said as she stepped into the room. She headed straight for the drums. "You didn't tell me you played drums."

Edward shrugged. "It's not my forte. I can keep a steady rhythm, and I can read notes. But that's about it."

Bella imagined her songs with a drumbeat behind them, and felt that she had written just the song to try it out. "Would you play for me?" she asked him.

He smiled at her. "Of course I would. I figured we could play here anytime. Since we don't have to worry about any roommates bursting in or anything like that."

Edward walked over to the set and Bella got up so that he could sit down. She went to her guitar case and took out her guitar. Her music book was at the bottom as always. She flipped to a page of one of her songs and started to play only the melody. When she glanced up at Edward, she saw his eyes narrowing in concentration as they followed her fingers on the guitar. Soon enough, he was playing a steady beat behind her melody.

"It's pretty Bella," he said after a couple of repetitions.

"Let's start over," she told him. "I'm going to start, and then you come in."

"And then you'll sing?"

Bella blushed. "And then I'll sing," she whispered.

Bella positioned herself on the edge of Edward's bed and readjusted her guitar in her lap. She did a silent count off in her head before beginning to play. Edward joined in flawlessly, and it wasn't long before she was singing. Softly, but surely.

_I was waiting for so long_

_For a miracle to come_

_Everyone told me to be strong_

_Hold on_

_And don't shed a tear_

_  
Through the darkness and good times_

_I knew I'd make it through_

_And the world thought I had it all_

_But I was waiting for you_

_  
Hush, now_

_I see a light in the sky_

_Oh, it's almost blinding me_

_I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love_

_Let the rain come down and wash away my tears_

_Let it fill my soul and drown my fears_

_Let it shatter the walls for a new sun_

_A new day has come, oh_

_  
Where it was dark, now there's light_

_Where there was pain now there's joy_

_Where there was weakness, I found my strength_

_All in the eyes of a boy_

It was another song about Edward. Bella felt like she had been churning them out obsessively. But she couldn't help it. And she didn't want to change it. She liked the way Edward made her feel, and she liked writing about it. And more importantly, she liked singing about it for him.

_  
Hush, now_

_I see the light in the sky_

_Oh, it's almost blinding me_

_I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love_

_Let the rain come down and wash away my tears_

_Let it fill my soul and drown my fears_

_Let it shatter the walls for a new sun_

_A new day has_

_  
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears_

_Let it fill my soul and drown my fears_

_Let it shatter the walls for a new sun_

_A new day has_

_Come, oh_

_  
Hush, now_

_I see the light in your eyes_

_All in the eyes of a boy_

_I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love_

_I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love_

_Oooh_

_  
Hush now_

_A new day_

Edward must have stopped playing at one point, because only Bella's chords faded softly into the silence. She looked up at Edward, and he was watching her with the most penetrating gaze. Her cheeks burned under the intensity.

"You're so talented," he whispered.

She smiled. "Thank you."

"You should really consider the winter recital."

"Oh Edward, I can't."

"It would be just like playing for me Bella."

Except there would be hundreds of others watching. "I don't think so," Bella replied.

He got up from the drum set and walked over to her. It was almost like it was slow motion. Gently he took the guitar from her lap and placed it back in its case. He moved her music book to the side as well. Instinctively, Bella backed up from the edge, placing herself further onto his bed, while giving him an opportunity to join her. But he only leaned forward, placing his hands on either side of her into the mattress.

"What are you really afraid of?" he asked her quietly. "I would tell you if you were bad Bella. And you really aren't."

Bella couldn't really think with him being this close to her, breaths mingling. "I…" Damn, nothing. Nothing but Edward's piercing gold eyes and close proximity.

"You what?" Edward pressed softly.

Bella remembered Jessica telling her not to make a move – something about looking eager. But right now, Bella was nothing but eager. Those full lips of his were so close that she could already taste them. Without considering the repercussions of her actions – or really considering anything at all – she titled her head towards his, making their lips brush. A thrilling spark jolted through her at the contact.

There was nothing for a moment, and Bella's eyes fluttered open – she didn't even know she had closed them – to see what was wrong. Edward was still watching her with that intense gaze, but his face was blank. Just when Bella was starting to think that Jessica's prediction had been accurate, she felt Edward's lips pressed against hers. Softly at first, then harder, as he climbed onto the bed to join her.

It seemed almost automatic, the parting of her lips. Edward eased them open with his tongue so swiftly, Bella didn't doubt that they were opening by themselves without his intervention. Regardless of how it came to be, that first instant when Edward's tongue brushed against her own, Bella's whole body seized with excitement, then melted away with desire. The one break between their kiss was when clothing – her sweatshirt she noticed – was being pulled over her head. She gasped at the loss of clothing, but her thoughts were lost in the return of Edward's kiss.

He pressed his body closer to hers, though not putting his full weight on her. His kiss became fiercer, and his fingers were dancing along her now exposed flesh. Bella trembled under the intensity of it all, and yet hungry for more. When his mouth dipped down into the crook of her neck, she sighed with pleasure, a soft moan accompanying the exhale. His tongue traced patterns all along her skin, and his hands seemed to be everywhere: her shoulders, her stomach, her inner thighs. Bella wondered if he would touch her fire – she was certain she would combust if he did. She had never felt such sexual turmoil as she did right now: trembling with pleasure, gasping for air.

The fingers on her inner thigh moved closer to her center. She breathed his name involuntarily, "Edward."

"Bella," he breathed back. His voice had gotten incredibly husky, and the look in his eyes was fierce. "Bella," he repeated.

And then he got up. Slowly, he detached himself from her – Bella realized that at some point she had put her arms around him – and sat up straight.

_Oh no. Oh no no no. _Bella sat up quickly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Edward said. "Nothing's wrong." And as if to prove his point, he smiled widely in his direction. "Come on, let's go grab something to eat."

Bella's body jerked in surprise. That was it? Had they not just been all over each other in passionate embrace? Now they were going to get something to eat? The sudden mood swing was more than sudden, it was jarring. But before Bella could come up with a protest, Edward was already off the bed and sifting through his drawers for a shirt.

"Edward," she said when she finally found her voice. "Are you sure everything is fine?"

"Yes, of course," he said, not looking at her. Whether this was deliberate, or if he was still looking for a shirt, she couldn't tell.

"Then why…." Bella's voice trailed off uncomfortably. Why were they not still making out like there was no tomorrow? What an awkward thing to ask.

He chose a white t-shirt. Once it was on his body, he turned to face her. His eyes were filled with unspoken emotion. Awkward as it was, Bella wanted to ask. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"Are you coming?" he asked her gently.

Bella had no other choice. She pulled back on her sweatshirt and got off of Edward's bed. The two left the room together in silence.

* * *

**Celine Dion, A New Day Has Come:: http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=nEjeItYtioE&feature=related (remove spacing)**

**Another chapter done, m****ore are in the works.**

**Reviews are always appreciated, thanks.**

**Until next time**

**--Brin--**


	6. Answers

**Diclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. I also claim no ownership over the Teddy Geiger song, "(Confidence) For You I Will".**

**I quickly want to thank Jess - Loves forever for prompting the idea that made this chapter (its not quite exactly what you suggested, but my idea is based off of yours, so thank you!)**

* * *

**Answers**

Edward had done a one-eighty. He was still pleasant enough, that was for sure, but since that moment of charged intimacy, there had been nothing else. No more holding hands, no more touching, and certainly not another kiss. Bella felt cheated, wanting. Her dreams, now that she had actually been touched intimately by Edward, had doubled in heat. She tossed and turned wildly in her bed, longing for him. But when she saw him, she put on the façade of everything being alright.

It was starting to feel like work.

But she still had no idea of how was the right way to approach the situation. A sinking feeling in her gut planted the idea that Edward had flipped the script so quickly because he had regretted taking their relationship to that point in the first place, and now he was doing damage control. Alice, who Bella had discussed the events with, said that that theory wasn't plausible. She said that Edward's shift in mood had mainly to do with his weirdness when it came to the opposite sex anyway.

"He likes you Bella," Alice had assured her. "I'm certain of it. I can tell the difference of when my brother is just trying to hook up with someone and when he crosses over into truly liking that person. Trust me when I say he's crossed the threshold. That's probably _why _he's acting so weird all of a sudden – he knows all about the reputation girls around here has given him, and he's probably trying to discourage that image with you."

Bella had to admit, it made sense. And she couldn't deny that at one point, she had wondered whether she and Edward were serious or not. It felt like it was going somewhere to her, but she couldn't be sure. Maybe this standoffishness was his way of telling her that he did want to be serious about her, and that their relationship wasn't based on the physical.

Only problem with that theory is that Bella never thought their relationship was based on the physical. Sure she had speculated where it was going, but wouldn't any girl who didn't think she was deserving of a guy like Edward Cullen? Truth was, in Bella's opinion, their relationship hadn't been physical enough for her to think it could be based on that. Not up until the point where he had her on his bed. If anything, their relationship was based on music – namely hers. There truly was no reason for Edward to suddenly want to draw back on the physical aspects of things, considering they had just started getting into them.

More importantly, it frustrated Bella that he wouldn't touch her anymore. Not even in an overly intimate way, but even in the most simplistic of ways. She missed his hand on her back as he guided her through town, or his arm around her shoulder when they watched television. He had given her too much, and now she felt like she was going through a painful withdrawal.

Alice told her just to talk to him about it. Angela, once Bella clued her in on everything, told her to talk to him about it too. Both claimed that Edward would be understanding enough to listen to her, and liked her enough to talk it out. Bella only had to hope that they were right.

After her afternoon class, she headed towards Edward's dorm building instead of her own. She knew that Edward didn't have any classes today, and could only hope that he was in his room.

As stroke of luck would have it, as she neared his room, she could hear sounds coming from inside. The closer she got, she realized that the sounds she was wearing were guitar strings being plucked – it was a sound she knew well. Music meant that Edward was in a good mood – at least, Bella did her music when she was in a good mood. Now was a better time than ever for them to talk. But just as she was about to knock, she heard humming. Deep and distinctively male humming.

Without realizing it, Bella pressed herself closer to the door, as silently as she could muster. With her ear against the door, she listened as hard as she could. The humming was accompanied with the strumming of the guitar. There was a slight moment of silence, followed by the sounds of scratching – pencil on paper? – and then the start of more strumming.

The music flowing through the door was gentle. But the part that truly caught Bella off guard was the sound of a voice – Edward's voice – singing softly along with the music he played:

_  
Wandering the streets in a world underneath it all_

_Nothing seems to be_

_Nothing tastes as sweet what I can't have_

_Like you and the way that you're twisting your hair 'round your finger_

_Tonight I'm not afraid to tell you_

_What I feel about you_

_  
Oh I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have_

_And cannonball into the water_

_I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have_

_For you I will_

_For you I will_

The words made Bella's skin flush. It would be wrong to assume that the lyrics were about her, or that Edward had written them for her or thinking of her or anything along the same lines of when _she _wrote lyrics. But it almost seemed to close for coincidence. What were the odds? Bella pressed her ear even closer to the door, hypnotized by the words.

_  
Forgive me if I st-stutter_

_From all the clutter in my head_

_Cause I could fall asleep in those eyes_

_Like a waterbed_

_  
Do I seem familiar I've crossed you in hallways a thousand times_

_No more camouflage, I wanna be exposed_

_And not be afraid to fall_

_  
Oh I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have_

_And cannonball into the water_

_I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have_

_For you I will_

_You always want what you can't have_

_But I've got to try_

_And muster every ounce of confidence I have_

_For you I will_

_For you I will_

_For you I will_

_  
If I could dim the lights in the mall_

_And create a mood_

_I would_

_Shout out your name so it echoes in every room_

_I would_

_  
That's what I'd do_

_That's what I'd do_

_That's what I'd do_

_To get through to you, yeah_

_Muster every ounce of confidence I have_

_And cannonball into the water_

_I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have_

_For you I will_

_You always want what you can't have_

_But I've got to try_

_I'm gonna muster everyone ounce of confidence I have_

_For you I will_

_For you I will_

_  
For you I will_

Bella listened as the final chords faded away, then heard a long exhale. There were more scratching noises, but they did little to block out the loud beating of Bella's heart. She felt her eyes getting wet with tears. Even if the words weren't about her, they were still the some of the most beautiful lyrics she had ever heard. And yet, something deep inside Bella told her that the words were intended for her.

She composed herself, wiping her eyes and taking deep breaths. Before she could change her mind, she lifted her hand and knocked firmly on the door.

There was some shuffling from inside, and then the door opened. Edward stood there in a pair of dark wash jeans and a fitted grey marina.

"Bella," he whispered.

"Edward," she said in a quiet tone as well.

They just looked at each other for a moment, both silent. Then Edward made a motion to step outside, his hand already on his doorknob to close it behind him. Bravely, Bella placed a hand on the center of his chest, giving him a gentle push.

"I would rather come inside," she told him.

The look in his eyes was questioning, but he obliged to her simple request. He sidestepped so that Bella could enter, then closed the door. Her eyes flitted around the room, landing on the guitar laying on his desk chair, and the loose sheets of paper filled with undistinguishable scribbles. Bella guessed that that was the song she just heard.

"What's up?" he asked her.

She turned to face him. "We need to talk."

"Okay," Edward said tentatively. "What about?"

Bella inhaled and exhaled deeply. "Us."

The word had taken a lot to say, and it seemed to be even more for Edward to process. "Us," he echoed hollowly.

"You're acting strangely around me," Bella started.

"No stranger than usual," he said firmly, crossing the room to where his papers lay about. He started gathering them together.

"Yes, stranger than usual," Bella insisted. "Look at you now. You won't even look at me. You're ignoring me."

"I'm not ignoring you," he muttered, not looking up.

"Look at me then."

He didn't, stubborn. And he was gathering those sheets of paper at a mercifully slow pace. Bella couldn't understand this sudden freeze she was getting from him. She decided to try a different tactic.

She leaned on his bed and casually said, "That's quite a mess. Were you working on something?"

"Music," was all he said.

"Music? Like a song perhaps?"

Suddenly Edward stopped. He stood slowly and placed the papers on the surface of his desk. Then he turned to face Bella slowly. "You heard, didn't you. You heard the song."

It was obvious that this wasn't a question, so Bella remained silent, holding his intense gaze. But it was he who looked away first, and she could have sworn that she heard him mutter the word 'damn'.

"Edward–"

"What Bella, what?" he snapped at her.

The sudden harshness in his tone caught her off guard, but she managed to hold her ground. "Why won't you tell me what the fuck is going on?" she cursed. "One minute it felt like our relationship was going somewhere, and then sudden it's changed. _You _changed. And you did it right after we–"

"We what?" Edward challenged her, storming over to where she stood. "_We _didn't do anything. _I _took advantage of you. _I_ took advantage of a good situation. I saw opportunity to…." His voice trailed off for a moment, then refocused, though in a tone significantly lower. "We didn't do anything," he said again.

"So you think I just laid there helplessly while you…" Her voice trailed much like his voice had. But her pause was accompanied by a revealing blush. "I wanted it too Edward," she told him quietly.

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course I do."

"No you don't," he said in a hard tone. He took another step closer to her, eyes narrowed. "Aren't you still a virgin?"

Bella's face heated up at the question. She stammered out a response, "No, I'm not," she said honestly. She had slept with only one boy though, and only once when she was fifteen. Following that, the boy suddenly wanted nothing to do with her. It had been that point in time when Bella turned to her guitar for solace, and started churning out songs of what _real _love would be like.

Her response had clearly caught Edward off guard, but not enough to shut him up. "It doesn't matter," he said fiercely. "You know what I wanted to do to you Bella? Not just kiss. Not just make out with you. I wanted to _fuck _you, okay? How does that make you feel?"

Bella couldn't lie: it made her feel kind of excited. Certainly Bella had never been so sexually attracted to a man that was actually available to her. And she definitely felt that her feelings for Edward ran deep enough for her to trust him with her body in that manner, even more so than the boy she had made her first. But before she could say anything, Edward spoke again.

"I'll tell you how it made me feel," he said quietly. He looked away from her. "It made me feel like shit."

There was a painful jolt to Bella's heart. "You don't want to sleep with me?" Why did that idea hurt so bad?

He glared at her. "Aren't you listening to me? I just said I wanted to sleep with you that day."

"Then what–"

"I'm not dumb Bella!" he yelled. Bella jerked back in surprise at his outburst, which prompted Edward to calm down. When he spoke again, his voice was softer, "I know what kind of reputation precedes me. I know what you've must have heard."

It took Bella only a second to make the connection. Alice had been right – Edward was afraid of giving Bella the wrong impression of their relationship.

"Edward," she said earnestly. "I've never thought for a second that you just wanted to use me."

"Yes, and I liked it that way," he murmured.

"I _still_ don't think that way," Bella told him.

Edward didn't seem all that convinced. Bella took a step closer to him, the only step left to take. The round of her breasts now ever so slightly grazed his chest. Bella placed one hand on his shoulder, and the other on the side of his face, turning it gently to face hers.

"You inspire me," she told him.

Confusion reflected in those beautiful honeyed eyes of his. "What?"

She felt the blood rushing to every inch of her face, but she didn't falter. "You asked me once, what inspires me to write the songs that I write. Once upon a time, it used to be my imagination. But as of late, ever since I've met you, it's been you."

Edward gave her a searching look. "Me," he echoed quietly.

"You," she repeated. "The two songs I've played for you, they came from the feelings that I have for you." A small smile crossed her face. "I've never felt this way about anyone else Edward. I trust you inexplicably. I feel like I can be myself around you. I want to share my music with you. I write music because of you."

The sudden touch of Edward's hand on her waist surprised Bella. But the look in Edward's eyes soothed her. "I wrote that song because of you," he told her. "The one you heard. It was because of you. Because I can't stop thinking about you. Because I like the way you make me feel. Because I like the time we spend together. Because…"

Bella had heard enough – she could feel enough. She silenced him with a kiss, gently pressing her lips against his. Instantly, she felt the hand on her waist tighten and Edward drew back from her.

"Bella." His voice had gotten thick. "Bella, I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Do you think…that you're falling in love with me?"

The question was an unexpected one. But at the same time, Bella was glad he asked. "I think so, Edward," she said honestly. "I think I may be falling in love with you."

Bella knew that she was putting herself in a vulnerable position, but she trusted Edward too much to lie. Everything could have gone horribly wrong at that point, but instead Edward gave her another squeeze. "Good," he said. "Because I think I may be falling in love with you as well."

No lyrics could have said the words better.

He kissed her softly, but passionately, parting her lips with the same ease as the last time they'd kissed. Bella's hands crept around his neck, gently pulling him closer to her. His free hand went to the other side of her waist and he pulled her closer to him, until every inch of her body lined up with his.

Bella couldn't miss the tightening of his crotch.

Her hands slipped down from his neck to the belt loops of his jeans. She stepped back, breaking the kiss but pulling them closer to his bed.

"Bella–" Edward began.

"Shut up Edward," Bella said cutting him off.

When she felt the bed behind her, she let him go so that she could climb on top. She lay on her back, heart pounding, but maintained her outer cool. "Come to me Edward," she said quietly.

He hesitated, came slowly. But he did climb on top of her, as Bella had hoped he would.

"Kiss me," she whispered.

"And then what?" Edward asked her, his voice husky.

"And then," she paused, "we'll do whatever feels right."

"Whatever?"

"I trust you Edward," Bella said, her voice full of certainty. "I trust you with every part of me."

"Good," he told her. "Because I would never cause you harm."

He kissed her more fiercely than before, his tongue immediately dipping into her mouth. Her back arched instinctively towards him, legs falling open just enough for him to rest between them. His hands were back at work, similar to the last time they were in this position. She felt them slipping under her tee-shirt, caressing her stomach, creeping up to her breasts. His kiss fell away from her mouth just as his hands slipped under her bra as well. As his mouth worked on her neck, his hands work on her mounds. Bella bit down on her bottom lip, eyes closed tight in pleasure. A soft moan escaped the confines of her throat. Soon his hands slipped under her body to unhook her bra.

A disconnection of their bodies – just long enough to pull off her top and bra simultaneously. "Tell me when to stop," he whispered.

"Not yet," she replied. Her voice sounded unfamiliar to her – thickened heavily with lust. "Don't stop."

Edward pulled off his own shirt before diving back down to her, their lips meeting again. Now Bella could feel his bare flesh against hers, and goose bumps attacked her skin at the continuous contact. Now the only clothing separating them were his jeans and her shorts. Her fingers instinctively went for his zipper.

"Bella," Edward groaned as she undid the confines of his jeans. She knew his hardness had been pressing against the clothing for long enough.

"Take them off," she commanded softly.

"Bella."

"I trust you Edward."

Another disconnection: Edward pulled off his jeans and boxers. While he pulled down her lower garments, Bella had a long look at what his equipment was like. She found herself intimidated and frightened, yet incredibly anxious and excited. She watched him search his wallet for a condom before tossing it and his jeans aside. Bella noticed her clothing had been tossed as well. Then Edward came back down to her level.

"Do you still trust me?" His voice was throaty and soft.

"Yes." Bella trembled. "Yes I still trust you Edward."

He kissed her again, slowly and passionately. Bella could feel him near her entrance, then feel him easing in.

It hurt. Maybe it had just been too long since her last time, but when Edward had fixed himself all the way inside her, it hurt. Bella whimpered and writhed underneath him. Edward kept his pace slow and even, and showered her with kisses on her forehead, her earlobe, her shoulder. The kisses were a pleasant distraction. It reminded her that Edward was not taking advantage of her. Edward was taking care of her. More soft kisses: along her collarbone, on her cheeks, on her nose. His sweetness helped. His affection helped. Even in all of her initial discomfort, she knew it would be worth waiting out the pain if it meant staying this close to Edward.

And then, it didn't hurt as much. Then, it didn't hurt at all. Soon she felt herself melting away into the world of pleasure where she gave the reigns of control over to Edward. And he did not disappoint, giving her sensations that she didn't even know existed. Her fingers dug into the firm expanse of his back, holding him close to her as he rocked into her. The places he reached within her, the places he touched outside her, were enough to make her burst into flame. He took her – took them both – to a place that Bella had been certain they'd never come down from. The room got noisy, with creaks and squeaks, with moans and groans, with gasps and sighs. He pushed them both to a place where Bella was sure a violent explosion was to bound to occur.

And when it did happen, and they both had reached their climax, Bella floated happily back down to earth, coming down on clouds. She could feel Edward's body, now covered in sweat, resting halfway on top of hers. His hand rested on her stomach, and Bella found her arm around him with her hand in his hair. Her free arm was flung across her forehead.

Their breathing had been the only audible sound in the room, until both caught their breath. Then they lay together in silence. Bella closed her eyes, allowing herself to absorb the remaining sensations coursing her body.

"Bella," Edward said after a while. She opened her eyes to find his waiting for hers. "Are you okay?"

She was a little sore, and very exhausted. But the strong emotion reflected in Edward's golden eyes seemed to soothe those issues to they held no great significance at all. Bella smiled at him. "I'm wonderful."

* * *

**Teddy Geiger, "(Confidence) For You I Will" - http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=4R3LHfDqnVY (take out spaces)**

**This is the acoustic version, but thats the one I had in mind anyway.**

**I hope the love scene wasn't too much, I've never actually written a love scene for a T rated fic, so I dont know how much you're suppose to put in/take out. I think I kept it pretty docile and decent, but let me know if it was too much (let me know if it was too little as well, so at least I can keep it in mind for future reference).**

**Reviews are always appreciated.**

**I'm hard at work on a couple more chapters. I will try to update soon, but I can't promise that it will be tomorrow (but I did give you two chapters today, that makes me good right?)**

**--Brin--**


	7. Family Affair

**I want to apologize from now if my updates are a little slower than usual, graduation is coming up so I'm super busy and therefore don't have as much time to write. But I will finish this story, that much I can promise. =)**

**This chapter is kinda long, but I couldn't find a good place to cut it. So you have a long chapter to read. Will be back soon.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or any of its characters. I also claim no ownership over the Celine Dion song, "Fly"**

* * *

**Family Affair**

"Don't be nervous," Edward whispered in her ear.

That was the umpteenth time today that Edward had told Bella this, but even the umpteenth time didn't work. Bella's heart was still racing with nervousness and she couldn't stop twiddling her fingers.

Then again, meeting the family was a good enough reason to be nervous.

Bella had spent the last two weeks in a state of extreme bliss. That's how long from today she and Edward had been in their official relationship. Shortly after their time in ecstasy together and they had managed to compose themselves, Bella brought the topic up.

"What happens now?" Bella had asked.

"Besides me changing my sheets," Edward answered playfully, making Bella blush a bright crimson. "The only responsible thing to do now is to ask you to be my girlfriend."

"Be serious Edward."

"I am being serious." He looked her directly in her eyes as he continued, "I want you in my life Bella. Not as just a friend. Not as just a fuck-buddy. You're already such an important person to me, and I certainly don't want to lose you to someone else, that the only natural thing to do now is to make things official." At this point, he smiled. "So I ask, Bella Swan, will you be my girlfriend?"

And of course, unable to say anything besides, Bella said yes.

Since then, she and Edward became inseparable. He walked her to her respective classes, and she walked him to his. They had lunch together, occasionally inviting Alice, Jasper and Emmett along for extra company. Alice gave Bella an 'I-told-you-so-look' when they announced the news about their relationship, and smiled knowingly at them both. Emmett joked, in what Bella realized was his natural way, that Bella wouldn't be able to handle 'Eddie, The Sex Fiend'. Bella only responded to this with an unavoidable blush. She was thankful that Jasper wasn't giving her any kind of heat.

Of course, their one moment of lovemaking turned into many more occurrences of the activity. Bella even spent a couple of nights in Edward's room, much to Jessica's pain, anguish and disbelief. She still was unable to comprehend the official nature of Bella and Edward's relationship, but Bella had decided earlier on that she didn't care what the girl thought. All that mattered was Edward.

And she was so happy with Edward. The weirdness that had been threatening to plague their entire relationship had faded away so cleanly, it was almost as if it didn't exist. Bella felt that her face was always in a permanent state of smile – if not a permanent state of redness as well. But the part that really made her filled with glee was that Edward seemed happy with her as well. He held her hand proudly, kissed her before they had to part, hugged her close to him when they embrace. Even when she slept over, or they were alone, it didn't automatically mean they would sleep together. Some of their best nights were spent lying next to each other, whispering about things and looking into each other's eyes.

Bella felt like the luckiest girl in the world. And even if she hadn't, every girl on campus made a point of reminding her just how lucky she was.

Then Edward brought up family; more specifically family dinner. He told me that every other Sunday, he and Alice went back home to have dinner with their mom and dad. He told me that Alice always brought Jasper, and that it was now time for him to bring Bella.

Now Bella stood in front of the grand doors of the largest and most-affluent appearing home she had ever seen, knees shaking uncontrollably.

"Compose yourself Bella," Edward said kindly as he slipped his house key into the lock. "There's nothing to be nervous about."

"Stop saying that," she hissed at him. "There's everything to be nervous about. These are your _parents._ One bad move, and they'll spend the rest of their lives trying to make you hate me."

"They could never make me hate you," he said sweetly, placing a light kiss on her cheek.

Bella smiled at the contact, but her nerves were still there. "Well, they could try, if I make the wrong impression."

"You won't," Edward said. "You're fabulous."

"Easy for you to say," Bella muttered. "You already like me."

Edward shook his head at her, but in a playful manner, a smile evident. He took her hand gently in his once he had the door open. "Come on, Mom would be in the kitchen."

The inside of the home was just as grand as the outside. Bella could deduce they were standing in the foyer, which led to the grand living room. The furniture was colored a regal beige, but the pillows placed on said furniture were an array of colors. There was even a genuine fireplace. But Bella's eyes went to the spotless black piano positioned by the large glass windows. She could picture easily a young Edward sitting behind the instrument, fingers working diligently along the ivory keys.

"Edward, sweetheart, is that you?"

The call was soft and motherly. Edward held Bella's hand tightly as he led her further into living room. "Yeah, it's me," he said as he headed to where the voice came from. "That's Esme," Edward whispered to Bella. "Mom."

So did Bella call her Esme or Mom? Edward didn't give her much time to figure it out, because his hand went to the small of her back and he eased her through the doorway before them. Now they were standing in a pristinely white kitchen. A small woman with kind brown eyes stood by the stove, stirring a spoon in a large pot.

"Eddie," the woman cooed, leaving her spot to approach Edward.

"Mom," Edward said softly, just as she reached up to kiss his cheek. Edward was much taller than her, so he leaned down some to make her stretch less work.

"And who's this?" The woman now turned her attention to Bella.

Bella blushed, thankful that Edward made the introductions. "Mom, this is Bella. Bella, my mother Esme Cullen."

"Call me Esme dear," Esme said. To Bella's surprise, she received a small peck on the cheek as well. "I'm so happy to finally meet you. Edward has said so many good things about you."

Bella glanced up at Edward, and smiled inside as she saw that rare shy side of Edward coming through. "Mother, really," he murmured. "I'm way too old for this kind of embarrassment."

"Oh Edward no matter how old you get, you're always going to be my little Eddie." Esme smiled at her adoptive sun. "Don't you forget who wears the pants around here?"

"Is that not me?"

Another voice, this one deep and distinctly male. Bella looked up and almost gasped in surprise. Dr. Carlisle Cullen was now in the room with them. Even though she had known already that Dr. Cullen was Edward's father, she was still in a some shock over actually seeing him in person – a man she had only seen on the cover of magazines.

Carlisle took advantage of her shock with pleasant assertiveness, "Carlisle Cullen, but Carlisle for you," he said stretching out his hand. Bella gave him her best handshake. "You must be Bella. I've heard so many good things from Edward."

Edward groaned. The sound made Bella laugh. "So I've heard," she said, feeling braver.

"Alice and Jasper are already here," Esme told Edward. "Down in the game room. You two want to head on down and we'll call you when dinner is ready?"

"I can help you, if you want," Bella said politely. She knew she wasn't the best cook, but she was definitely handy in the kitchen regardless.

Esme smiled. "I like this one Eddie," she said with a wink. Edward hid his face in his palm. "No sweetheart it's fine," Esme said to Bella. "I have all the help I need right here."

At this point, she reached an arm around her husband's waist. Carlisle pretended to groan in despair, which made Esme hit him on the shoulder. Their playful exchange made Bella smile: these were clearly two people very much in love.

"Go on, we'll buzz you when we're ready," Esme insisted.

Edward took Bella's hand and steered her out. "Buzz?" Bella queried.

"We have an intercom system running through the house," Edward said. "It gets kinda hard to yell for one another in a house this big."

Bella could imagine. She could have probably fitted her entire home in their first floor alone. And there was at least another floor above, she garnished that from the stairs that they passed. She also realized there was a floor below, as they took a different staircase down.

The basement must have once been just a big empty space, but was now converted into a massive game room. A large flat screen television was mounted on the wall, with several game system and respective games sprawled out on the floor beneath them. There was also a lineup of classic arcade machines against a wall, a ping pong table and an air hockey table. Two two-seater couches and a bean bag served as the only furniture.

Alice and Jasper were playing Rock Band, Alice sitting behind the drumset while Jasper held a guitar. They were still in song selection mode when Alice turned around at Bella and Edward's arrival.

"Bells," she exclaimed. "You're here. How unexpected."

"Edward invited me," she explained quietly.

"Well I guessed as much." Alice walked over to her big brother and punched him playfully. "This one's pretty important to ya, huh Eddie."

"Ugh," Edward said. "My whole family is picking on me today."

"You love it." Alice said with a bright smile. Then she said, "Come join our band. I call drums!"

"You can't play drums for shit Ali," Edward said as he went for the game drum kit. "Play guitar or something."

"Or something is right," Jasper said. He added firmly, "I'm play guitar."

"But that only leaves bass! I don't want to play bass!" Alice complained.

"I'll play bass," Bella suggested.

"You're going to sing," Edward and Alice said at the same time. Then Alice added, "I thought that was blatantly obvious."

And as if to confirm this, Alice got up from her drumset and firmly placed the mike in Bella's hand. Bella shrugged in inevitable defeat. She was pretty much used to being the vocals when it came to Rock Band. And it wasn't so nerve racking when the whole point of Rock Band was to suck and have fun sucking. No one paid attention to who was talented or not.

"And _I'm _going to play drums," Edward said firmly, now sitting down behind the drums

Alice sighed. "Fine, I'll play bass, so long as Jasper switches off with me."

"Not on your life," Jasper said.

"Say that again and you suffer some…sufferable consequences." Alice's tone meant serious business.

"Fine," Jasper muttered.

Once they had Bella and Edward signed in, they started a new band and began the Rock-A-Thon. Normally Bella played on Medium, so that she could downplay her vocal skills, but everyone else picked Expert…so she felt kinda lame. Expert, however, was no problem for her, so she chose it as well. The four of them only managed to play five songs before the buzz for dinner came over.

"Lucky for you Alice," Jasper said teasingly. "Because you know you can't play that guitar solo on Expert."

"I don't think she can even play it on Easy," Edward added with a laugh.

"Why are they so mean to me Bella," Alice said, rolling her eyes. "Just because those two are RB nerds and I take the time to have a life."

"Yeah well, you're dating an RB nerd, aren't you?" Jasper said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Yeah I guess." She tried to say it casually, but her bright smile gave it all away.

The four of them headed upstairs and went to the living room where Carlisle and Esme were already seated that the respective heads of the table. Bella and Edward took the left side of Carlisle while Alice and Jasper took the right. Bella found herself next to Esme, while Edward was by his father. She found she rather liked it this way – Esme did not intimidate her as much as Dr. Cullen did.

The array looked delicious: grilled chicken, wild rice, and stir-fry vegetables. There was a pasta dish with creamy white sauce, and a pot of soup with rolls. Bella hardly knew where to start.

Jasper must have noticed the look on her face, because he said, "Yeah, you're going to start loving the benefits of dating a Cullen. I always start with the appetizer first, which I'm going to guess is the soup for tonight."

Alice hit Jasper's shoulder hard. "Sometimes you think you're being funny, and it doesn't work out that way."

Bella mentally thanked Jasper anyway, and asked for a bowl of soup. Edward filled her bowl and gave her two rolls. Now that it was sitting right under her nose, she could smell the meat and vegetables that simmered in the broth.

"It's beef vegetable," Esme explained. "I hope you don't have any food allergies. Edward didn't tell me he was bringing a guest, so I cooked the way I normally do."

"It was a surprise," Edward told his mother.

"I have no food allergies, Ms. Esme," Bella said softly.

"Just Esme dear, please. The last thing I need is to feel older than I already am."

"You hardly look a day over thirty, Mom," Alice said as she took a bowl of soup for herself.

"You're sweet Al," Esme said.

"Watch your pockets dear," Carlisle warned in a playful tone. "Compliments mean they want something."

The table erupted into easy laughter, and Bella found herself joining in. The nerves she was being attacked with from before seemed to have dissolved completely. By the time both parents had turned their attentions on her – during the main course – Bella was completely at ease when answering their questions. She even managed to make them laugh some as well. And the occasional, reassuring squeeze on her knee from Edward was an added plus.

"Dessert anyone?" Esme asked once everyone had cleared their plates.

"You know I don't turn down desert," Carlisle said with a grin.

"Mom makes excellent brownies," Edward told Bella. "You're going to want some."

Bella couldn't imagine herself wanting anything else right now, since she was so full from the delicious dinner, but then Edward explained that his mother never cooked dessert until she heard that people wanted it ("so nothing goes to waste"). They had about an hour and a half to kill before it would be ready.

"Where's your room?" Bella asked him as others got up from the table.

Edward rose his eyebrow suggestively. "You don't beat around the bush, do you Bella Swan?"

Immediately Bella understood the double entendre on her words. The red covering her face was imminent. "That's not what I meant," she said quickly. "I–"

"I know what you meant," Edward said with a smile. He stood up, "Come on, I'll show you."

The two of them, with Edward leading, went back through the living room and took the grand staircase upstairs. Even though upstairs at a glance looked just like a long corridor, Bella could only imagine what the bedrooms were like behind the white double doors.

Edward stopped in front of a particular set and grabbed the handles, pulling them down and pushing the door open. Bella couldn't hide her initial shock at the size of the room. It even had glass doors that led to a balcony. There was a flat screen television mounted on one of his walls as well, with game systems lying beneath it as well. There was even a full couch in the room.

"I think I'd begin to feel lonely if I had to sleep in here all by myself," Bella said honestly.

Edward closed the door quietly, then turned to face her. "Well good thing I have you in here with me now," he said suggestively.

She felt herself easily being swept into his embrace, followed instantly by a soft kiss. Bella didn't resist him, almost melting totally in his arms. His hands held her waist firmly, pressing her even closer into his body.

"Where do you want it," he whispered to her in a husky tone.

Bella's face flushed immediately. "Edward, your whole family is downstairs."

"That's what makes it fun," he told her with a seductive smile.

"Edward–"

"The walls are soundproof, in case you think I'll make you scream." His voice dropped an octave as he added, "Which I will."

More flushed expression. "Edward–"

"The bed is always a promising place to start," Edward said smoothly, pulling her over to where his king-size was placed.

Bella was at a loss for words. But there was nothing bad about it. She couldn't lie, there was a rush of adrenaline going through her mind at the idea of his parents being only a floor beneath them. It felt naughty.

They undressed each other easily and then Edward was between her legs, deep inside. Bella's eyes fluttered closed and she moaned as he moved in and out of her body, pressing her into the softness of his mattress. Her hands caressed his back, and her legs locked themselves around his waist. Bella felt her body trembling with delight over the sensations that coursed through her. The deep throaty groans that Edward released only heightened her excitement, reminding her that he too was enjoying the ride.

It wasn't long before Bella felt that delicious explosion beginning to build within her. Her clawed her fingers deep into Edward's back, and he growled in response. Her back arched, and she bit down hard on her bottom lip, erotic sounds escaping anyway. And when her climax finally consumed her, she shook with ecstasy.

Edward shivered, pressed his lips to her forehead. "You're amazing," he whispered.

"You're one to talk," Bella said in a tone just as breathless.

The two of them cuddled under Edward's thick comforter, lying side by side, bodies touching. Bella looked up at Edward's face. His eyes were closed and his breathing and gotten deeper. His hand rested gently on her waist, his thumb absently stroking her skin. Bella sighed in content – she never wanted to leave this moment ever.

But soon enough, Esme's call for dessert came through the intercom. It took everything in both Bella and Edward's power to finally get out off the bed to redress and compose themselves. By the time they made it downstairs, everyone was already gathered in the living room, with brownies and ice cream set up on the coffee table, centered amongst the sofas.

Alice took one look at the two of them, and made a dramatic expression of disgust, while Jasper waggled his eyebrows suggestively in their direction. Bella blushed: was it that obvious to realize what they had been up to? The last thing she needed was for Edward's parents to think she was some form of sexual deviant.

But Edward's reassuring hand on her back as he guided her to a particular sofa, soothed her nerves. They sat down opposite of Esme and Carlisle, and Edward put together a plate of brownies and ice cream for Bella.

"So Bella," Esme said warmly. "Edward tells me you have a beautiful voice."

By this time Bella was holding her plate of dessert, but at the sound of Esme's words, she was almost dropped it. "Uh, yeah," she said uncertainly.

"My husband and I are serious music lovers. Edward must have told you about all the music we tried to get him into at a young age," Esme continued, a smile on her face. "We tried to do the same for Alice, but she seemed more interested in other arts."

"We can't all be musicians, Mom," Alice said rolling her eyes.

"Oh honey, you know I don't hold that against you. You're a great artist and a fantastic actress."

"Don't we know it," Jasper joked.

Bella had been extremely grateful for the sudden shift in conversation, but then Esme's attention shifted right back on her. "Anyway, it would be lovely to hear you sing something, if you want to of course," she said.

Bella swallowed hard, feeling turmoil inside her. Of course she didn't want to sing; she only enjoyed singing for Edward. Now this was the whole Cullen family, plus Jasper. And Esme had said they were music _lovers_; if she messed up, she'd never be able to live it down.

But at the same time, it seemed rude to turn down the offer. She had come into their home, eaten their food, and taken advantage of their hospitality by sleeping with their son only a few minutes ago. All they wanted from her was to sing. It seemed like something completely minor in comparison.

But _singing?_ She didn't even know what to sing! Even now, her voice seemed to have shriveled up and died, because as Esme waited patiently for her response, Bella found no words to give.

Edward spoke up for her, but Bella thought he could have chosen some better words, "Bella doesn't like to sing in front of strangers."

_Thanks Edward, _Bella thought maliciously. Esme seemed hurt. "Oh, well then, that's fine Bella. It was just a question."

"It's not like I don't like to sing in front of strangers." The words flew out of Bella's mouth so quickly that she didn't process the lie she had just told. Now that she had said, she realized she needed some follow-up words. "I just get really nervous before I sing," she added. That was the complete truth anyway.

"You don't have to be nervous around us Bella," Carlisle said. "Any friend of our children's is a friend of the family."

Bella squirmed in her seat again. "Don't pressure her," Edward said firmly. "She doesn't want to."

Bella wanted to tell Edward to shut up. "I don't mind singing," she said quickly, to cover for Edward's rudeness. "I just don't have anything to sing."

"Well you guys are always working on music together," Alice reminded them. "Just pick one of those songs and sing that."

Bella felt her face paling. One of her _own _songs? Just as the thought came to her mind, Edward seemed to pick it up as well. But his delivery of her thoughts were still putting her in a rough situation: "Bella, _especially, _doesn't sing her own work for other people. I'd had to promise to keep our music sessions in obscure places so that no one else would hear."

Edward laughed at his own little joke, but no one else did. Bella used her leg to hit his as hard as she could manage. He looked down at her just in time to catch her glare. Hopefully he'd get the point from that. But he only shrugged at her.

"It's your call Bella," he told her.

Bella felt trapped, but sighed in defeat. "Okay, I'll sing."

"Wonderful," Carlisle cheered. "If your voice is as wonderful as Edward makes it sound, then I'm excited to hear it."

Bella could already feel the awkwardness if it turned out that her voice was _not as wonderful _as Edward made it sound. But she tried not to let it consume her as she placed her untouched plate on the coffee table and walked quietly behind Edward over to the piano. She realized soon enough that she would have to stand – even more awkward – but she didn't get a chance to ask Edward to get her a chair because he was already seated comfortable behind the piano. His fingers danced idly over the keys, re-accustoming himself with the instrument, before turning his eyes to Bella.

Bella took a deep breath, then gave a small nod. She wasn't sure what he was going to play, but she could only hope it wasn't anything she had written. That much she would have to trust him with.

The opening chords of a song Edward had written filled the room. Bella sighed thankfully to herself. She knew the song well enough, and sang the words by heart:

_  
Fly, fly little wing_

_Fly beyond imaging_

_The softest cloud, the whitest dove_

_Upon the wind of heaven's love_

_Past the planets and the stars_

_Leave this lonely world of ours_

_Escape the sorrow and the pain_

_And fly again_

_Fly, fly precious one_

_Your endless journey has begun_

_Take your gentle happiness_

_Far too beautiful for this_

_Cross over to the other shore_

_There is peace forevermore_

_But hold this mem'ry bittersweet_

_Until we meet_

_  
Fly, fly do not fear_

_Don't waste a breath, don't shed a tear_

_Your heart is pure, your soul is free_

_Be on your way, don't wait for me_

_Above the universe you'll climb_

_On beyond the hands of time_

_The moon will rise, the sun will set_

_But I won't forget_

The short break from the verse left for Edward's piano playing. But Bella, loved this song, and found herself vocalizing harmoniously with him. Her own bravery surprised her, but with her eyes closed, she imagined that it was only her and Edward playing together. And with Edward, Bella felt courage that she didn't feel with anyone else. Once her last verse was coming up, she sang the words softly – barely above a whisper:

_  
Fly, fly little wing_

_Fly where only angels sing_

_Fly away, the time is right_

_Go now, find the light_

The silence following Bella's final notes was deafening. Bella opened her eyes slowly, to find the Cullens watching her somber expressions. Just when Bella thought this whole thing was a mistake, Esme smiled brightly and gave a soft clap.

"Bella honey, that was beautiful," she whispered.

"I didn't know you had pipes like _that _Bells," Alice gushed. "No wonder Edward is always talking about it."

"I knew my son had a good ear," Carlisle said with a wink.

Bella smiled at the compliments, her nerves at peace. Suddenly she felt arms around her waist, and Edward's cheek pressed against hers.

"I knew you'd be great," he whispered. "You're always great."

"You shouldn't have done that," Bella whispered back. "You basically tricked me into singing."

"Forgive me for wanting my family to hear my girlfriend's beautiful voice," He said placing a soft kiss on her cheek.

Bella blushed again just as Edward stepped in front of her. His smile was infectious. "Forgive me?" he asked in a soft voice.

Bella rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Just this once."

* * *

**Celine Dion, "Fly" -http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=iIeBqsujCqg (remove spacing.) The song is kinda sad, but it sounds really pretty, and I love the vocalizing in the middle (it gives Bella a chance to show off her pipes)**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this. Reviews are always appreciated.**

**Will update as soon as I can (bear with me if its not tomorrow though)**

**--Brin--**


	8. Disagreements

**Hey all! Hope you haven't been waiting too long on this chapter....I'm going as fast as I can! Also, just as a heads up, I think we're nearing the end of this fic...maybe another chapter or two following this one. It's been an okay journey for me I guess, my first Twilighter was met with...."ehh" response. But then again, maybe readers are just waiting for it to end before they review and whatnot (that's happened to me in the past as well)**

**Anyway, we'll see now won't we ;-)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. I also claim no ownership over any of the components of the Celine Dion song, "The Power Of Love"**

* * *

**Disagreements**

Edward lay on his back wearing only a pair of dark boxers. Bella wore the shirt he had on earlier – a plain white t-shirt – over her underwear. The rest of their clothing lay strewn across Edward's bedroom floor.

Bella was sitting up, her legs crossed and her guitar resting in her lap. Edward's eyes were closed, one had resting casually on his flat defined stomach, and the other lost in his messy bronze hair. Even with his eyes closed, Bella knew he was awake and alert. She strummed her guitar softly and sang in a whisper:

_The whispers of the morning_

_Of lovers sleeping tight_

_Are rolling by like thunder now_

_As I look in your eyes_

_I hold onto your body_

_And feel each move you make_

_Your voice is warm and tender_

_A love that I could not forsake_

_  
Cause I'm your lady_

_And you are my man_

_Whenever you reach for me_

_I'll do all that I can_

_  
Lost is how I'm feeling_

_Lying in your arms_

_When the world outside's too much to take_

_That all ends when I'm with you_

_Even though there may be times_

_It seems I'm far away_

_Never wonder where I am_

_Cause I am always by your side_

_  
Cause I'm your lady_

_And you are my man_

_Whenever you reach for me_

_I'll do all that I can_

_We're heading for something_

_Somewhere I've never been_

_Sometimes I am frightened but I'm ready to learn_

_Of the power of love_

_  
The sound of your heart beating_

_Made it clear suddenly_

_The feeling that I can't go on_

_Is light years away_

_  
Cause I'm your lady_

_And you are my man_

_Whenever you reach for me_

_I'm gonna do all that I can_

_We're heading for something_

_Somewhere I've never been_

_Sometimes I am frightened but I'm ready to learn_

_Of the power of love_

_  
The power of love_

_The power of love_

_Sometimes I am frightened but I'm ready to learn_

_Of the power of love_

_  
The power of love, ooh ooh_

A smile crossed Edward's face at the end of Bella's song. His eyes opened slowly, locking on with hers immediately. "Was that song for me?" he said in a playful tone.

Bella blushed. "Maybe."

He sat up on the bed and moved closer to Bella. His hand cupped the back of her head gently just as his lips met hers. Bella sighed mid-kiss, just before rendering herself completely to his will. She could never get over the taste of Edward.

He pulled away from her slowly, then pressed his forehead against hers. "You're so special to me Bella," he whispered.

She smiled. "You're special to me too Edward."

He smiled brightly back at her, before moving away and getting off the bed. Bella put her guitar down and turned her body to face his. He was standing in front of his open closet, contemplating the clothes inside. He then chose a particular item of clothing and showed it to her.

"What do you think?" he asked her.

Bella liked it. It was a pure black button down shirt with a graphic design of a silver dragon on the left breast. "It's nice," she said honestly. "New I'm guessing?"

"Brand new," Edward said. "I bought it yesterday."

"What's it for?"

"The recital," he said. "I figured this would go good with the dress you wore that first night I took you to dinner."

Bella's heart stopped momentarily. "Recital?"

"Yeah, recital." He gave her a knowing look. "You know: the one next week, my sister is putting it on."

"I know what you're talking about," Bella said carefully. "I'm just confused. It sounds like you think we're performing."

"We _are _performing."

"No we're not," Bella said quickly. "I never signed up for it."

"I signed us up," Edward replied trying on the shirt. "Unless you'd rather sing by yourself."

Her heart rate started doubling up at the thought. "I'd rather not sing at all!"

Edward seemed to not have heard her, or he was doing a good job at ignoring her, because now he had all the buttons done on his shirt and he asked her, "What do you think? Too much?"

"It doesn't matter!"

His expression fell. "You don't want me to look good?"

"Stop it Edward," Bella said in a serious tone. "You know you look great in everything."

"Well thanks Bella," he said with a smile.

"This isn't funny, you know, this you ignoring me."

"I'm not ignoring you."

"If you were listening to me, you'd stop sifting through your closet for a damn shirt."

Edward stopped at that. He looked up at Bella speculatively. "What is it?"

"I told you before that I'm not singing in that recital," Bella said slowly. "I told you that a long time ago."

"Well that was a long time ago. Surely you've changed your mind by now."

"Well I haven't."

"Well I think that you're being fucking ridiculous."

His voice was hard and hurtful. "That's not fair."

"What's not fair about it Bella?"

"You can't just sign me up for something without even consulting me. Especially if you already know how I feel about performing in front of people."

"You sang for my family."

"You tricked me into that!"

"Well let's say this is my second trick."

His voice had an odd finality to it, and he went back to looking through his closet. Bella watched him in disbelief. "You aren't the boss of me," she said suddenly. "If I don't want to do it, I don't have to."

"Of course you don't have to," Edward said, still not looking at her. "I'd just think you were a coward if you didn't."

"A coward," she echoed emptily.

"Yes, a coward." He looked at her directly as when he spoke again. "It makes no sense for someone as multitalented as you, not want to perform for others. I know horrible musicians who are just dying for people to hear their work. And they're _horrible. _Bu you, a beautiful girl with a beautiful voice, couldn't even sing for my family without poking or prodding."

"Well I'm sorry that I'm not as outgoing as you," she snapped. "Sorry that I don't want everyone to know my personal business."

"I'm not asking you to sing something you wrote, Bella, I'm asking you to _sing._" He put emphasis on his last word. "I'm asking you to open up your perfect little mouth and sing. Because you can. Because you should."

"Is there some unspoken rule book that says I have to sing just because I can?" Bella asked him, folding her arms.

Edward gave her a long, piercing look, then said, "You know what? Fuck it then."

Bella stood up and stomped over to him, standing in front of him before he could close down again. "No," she said. "Not 'fuck it'. Talk to me."

"Why bother?" he asked her. "There's no getting through to you. I tell you to sing and you act like I'm asking you to perform a graphic masturbation demonstration or something."

"There's no getting through to _you,_" she retorted hotly. "I tell you that I don't sing my personal work for strangers and you keep trying to force me to."

"Is it so bad that I find you so talented that I want to help you share your talent with others? And for the last fucking time, you do _not _have to sing one of your little songs. You can sing a _cover _of something."

"I don't want to sing anything Edward!"

"Why not Bella!"

They had never yelled at each other or been in each other's faces like this. Edward was so mad that his face was flushed. Bella was so sure that her face looked the same.

"It doesn't matter why I do or don't," she said loudly.

"And you know why you say that Bella? Cause you know that you have no good reason to feel this way. You know that you have a great voice. You know that you're talented. You're just extremely shy for no goddamn reason."

"So I'm shy, so fucking what?"

"So nothing, Bella. So nothing."

Edward turned away from her for a moment and took two steps in the opposite direction, but then came right back. "Actually there is something, Bella, and here's what it is." His eyes burned with intense emotion. "I love you, and I want to be there for you. And I knew you were shy about performing for others. So I wanted to help you. I wanted to perform _with _you. And I'm feeling a little shitty that the thanks I'm getting from you, is all this complaint and whining. That's what's up."

His words caught Bella off guard. Had he said that he _loved _her? She couldn't even begin to respond to that, opening and closing her mouth silently. Edward watched her, waiting, but turned away when he realized nothing was coming. He stood at his desk, placing his palms flat on the surface and took a couple of deep breaths.

"I don't want to shout anymore," he said quietly. "Maybe you should just go."

Bella's heart seized painfully at that. "Edward–"

"Forgive me, but I don't feel like company anymore." He said, cutting her off. That finality was back again.

Bella stood there, feeling lost. Edward wouldn't budge, hands still on his desk and eyes closed. Finally, in a zombie-like trance, Bella removed Edward's shirt and put back on her own clothes. Racing through her mind where the events that just took place. And yet she couldn't pinpoint when it came to this point.

Once dressed, she tried to address him again: "Edward–"

"Bella, stop."

"Edward I don't want to leave like this," she said, her voice pleading. "This doesn't feel right."

He exhaled heavily and turned to face her, his golden eyes smoldering. He walked over to her and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. "What feels right to you Bella? Tell me some of the things that feel right to you."

She replied honestly, "Being with you. Being with you feels right."

"And being with you feels right to me as well," he told her. "Being with you, listening to you play your guitar, hearing you sing your songs, and playing songs together. All those things feel right to me."

"They feel right to me too Edward."

"Then why can't you overlook your stupid feelings for a moment and play with me at the recital?" he asked her, his voice suddenly angry again. "Why can't you just see it as me and you playing for each other?"

"Because it's not that simple," Bella said, noting her tone had returned to its prior fury. "Because my feelings _aren't _stupid and if you really cared about me, you'd respect them more."

"I respect and care for you immensely."

"It doesn't feel that way right now," she murmured to herself.

But Edward heard her. His hands dropped from her shoulders. "Then leave Bella," he said. "Just leave."

She gave him a long look. There was emotion swimming in his eyes, but his expression remained firm and unchanging. Bella finally turned away from him, heading for the door and closing it on her way out. It wasn't until she reached the common room that she realized she was crying. By the time Bella reached her room, her sobs were uncontrollable. Fortunately for her, Jessica wasn't in the room, so she was allowed to cry openly.

And cry she did, for the rest of the day. Even when Bella thought she was done crying, tears still streamed down her face. She never felt so confused, and drained, and pained like this before. Not even when Michael – the boy that took her virginity – had left her hanging high and dry. This was unbearable.

She thanked the higher powers that she didn't have a class the following day, because she made no plans to get out of bed. Jessica stared at her curiously for a while in the morning, wondering why Bella wasn't up. Normally, Bella was bustling around as if she _did _have a class – but only because she had breakfast with Edward. Now, she didn't think she could handle looking at him. Had they broken up yesterday? What happened yesterday?

Bella hid under her blanket for the whole day, thinking, replaying yesterday's events in her mind. Part of her was still mad that Edward couldn't see her side of the story, the fact that she was juts uncomfortable singing in front of people who didn't know her. It was natural for people to be nervous in front of strangers. He was just being stubborn. But at the same time, she felt pain for not understanding his want to help her out, to be there for her in a time when he already knew she would be nervous. She was being just as stubborn as he was.

And he had told her that he loved her. And she struggled to reply. She could only imagine how that must have played over in his head.

"_Just leave."_

Her cell phone rang more than once of course, but she didn't answer. It was always Angela, or Alice, and even Jessica called once or twice. But it wasn't the person she wanted to hear from.

And when Edward did finally call, she could bring herself to pick it up, another wave of tears unleashing themselves from her eyes. By the time she had composed herself again, the phone had stopped ringing. Edward didn't leave a message.

The next day, Bella had to get out of bed. Her hair started to smell, and she was still wearing clothes from two days ago. Plus she had her psychology paper due today.

After freshening up, she walked across the campus tentatively, on the alert for Edward. She wasn't sure what she would do when she saw him – she was still mad, but she was feeling empty. Something told her that things between them were over, but she knew in her heart she didn't want them to be.

To her confused surprise, Edward was standing outside of her psychology class. He didn't seem to be looking for her, but she had to be the only reason he was there, right?

Wrong. A gorgeous and slim blond girl wearing a school sweatshirt and shorts so tiny Bella only had to assume that she had some on, came out of the room. She stood in front of Edward and pulled her hand flirtatiously through her hair. Edward was smiling at her. The anger-pain that was bubbling inside Bella switched over into anger as she stomped up towards them.

"What is this?" she hissed.

"Hi Bella," the girl cooed, but her voice was anything but friendly.

Edward's smile dropped. "Bella," he said coolly.

"Is this how you handle things Edward?" Bella asked him. "We have one fight and now you're laughing here with some tramp?"

"Excuse me–" The girl began, but Bella placed her hand up to stop her. She scoffed and turned to Edward. "Ed sweetie–" but now she was met with Edward's hard stare. Feeling awkward and upset, the girl huffed and walked away.

"Is this how _you _handle things Bella?" Edward asked in a tone that matched hers. "You disappear on me for a whole day and then you make a scene?"

"Now I'm making a scene? Oh I guess I should have just walked by unassumingly while that tramp kept trying to hit on you. You were clearly just waiting for her to appear."

His eyes narrowed angrily. "I was waiting here for _you, _because I knew you had class here next. And since _you _avoided me yesterday, I figured this was the one way I could finally catch you."

"Seems like I've caught you."

"You can't be serious Bella. The girl just appeared. I was polite. I think there's a bigger issue here."

Bella fell silent, her mood switching from anger to pain. Suddenly she didn't have the energy to talk anymore. "It doesn't matter," she muttered. "I have class."

She was about to walk away, but Edward grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "I don't understand you," he said. "You don't want to talk to me at all?"

"You were the one who kicked me out of their room," Bella said. "You told me to leave."

"I was upset."

"Well I'm upset right now," Bella said. "Learn to care about someone's feelings besides your own."

"Bella I care about you so much," Edward said, the meaningfulness of his tone not hard to miss.

Bella's heart squeezed, and she wanted nothing more than to rest her head on Edward's chest and have him hold her. But instead she asked, "Why did you sign me up for the recital? You know how I felt about doing that. You know how I feel about my music. Why do you ignore my feelings?"

"I'm not ignoring them Bella–"

"But you don't respect them," Bella said. "You basically manipulated me into singing when he visited your family. And now you secretly sign us up for this recital. And even though you tell me now that we'd play a cover, I wouldn't be surprised if you suddenly showed up with a sheet of my music."

"I would never disrespect you like that," he said firmly. "You know that. We didn't play any of your songs at my parents' house."

"It doesn't matter," Bella said. "I don't have to sing if I don't want to. You shouldn't be forcing me."

"You shouldn't be so shy about your singing. You should learn to fight through your nerves."

"Maybe I will, at my own pace."

"Well maybe I just wanted to help. Maybe I just wanted to be there for you. Maybe I just wanted to be a good boyfriend for you. Is that so wrong of me?"

Bella didn't know how to answer that. So she didn't. "I have class," she said again.

Edward let her go, albeit reluctantly. "Why aren't you understanding me?"

"Why aren't you understanding me?" she asked him.

He sighed, looked away from her, then looked back. "You're letting this come between us."

"You're acting like this isn't a big deal."

He held the bridge of his nose with thumb and pointer finger, eyes closed tight. He exhaled again. "Fine, go to class," he said, walking away from her.

Bella was about to go after him, but didn't know what to say. So she turned and went into her class. And following her class, she went back to her room, and did more crying. More phone calls missed, this time none from Edward.

On the third day of this awkwardness between the two of them, Bella sought out Edward this time. She waited until she knew when his classes were over in hopes to intercept him on his way to his dorm. When she did spot him, her heart did an involuntary flip of joy, and she knew that she still cared about him. That they were just having a disagreement, but they could fix it, because things weren't bad yet. Couples had disagreements all the time. It wasn't the be all end all.

"Edward," she called out to him.

He glanced in her direction. Bella could sense his hesitation before he approached her. It made her wary. "Bella," he said once he was close enough. "Hey."

"Hey," she said. "Look, I'm tired of all this back and forth between us."

"Yeah, me too." He ran his hand over his hair. "I was just about to come and find you so we could talk."

Bella gave him a weak smile. "About?"

"About us?"

The weak smile gave out. His tone was anything but upbeat and conversational. Fear started coursing through her veins. "What about us?"

He looked down, looked away, struggled to look at her. "You ever think… that maybe we rushed into things?"

_Oh no. _"Edward, don't–"

"I mean, the way I feel about you is unlike anything else I've ever felt for another person." He sighed. "But maybe that's not enough."

"You're not this mad Edward," Bella said quickly, taking his hands in hers. "Stop for a second. Think about what you're saying."

"I have been thinking," he said. His eyes finally settled on hers, pain blending in the honey of his irises. "I've been thinking about how you've been avoiding me. How you won't talk to me. How, somehow this is all my fault, and you want me to understand why, without helping me to understand why."

He paused. "Like this whole recital thing. You say that I should have understood that you don't like singing for others. But you've never told me _why? _You've never told me if…maybe something traumatic happened to you and you're reminded when you're singing. You haven't told me anything."

"You know that I'm shy," Bella insisted. "You know that."

"Yeah I do Bella, but," He looked at her, "that's not enough. I thought you trusted me. It's natural to have stage fright, which is why I wanted to be there with you when you performed at the recital. So you wouldn't have to be alone. We would perform together. We would get through your nerves together. Like we've done so far."

Suddenly Bella felt stupid for ever yelling at Edward in the first place. It wasn't that he didn't understand her shyness and was forcing her to perform. He was just trying to help her. To be there for her in her time of crises. So that even if they messed up, they would have messed up together. So that even if they all pointed and laughed, she have him to lean on.

"You sang me a song three days ago," he told her. "About the power of love. That sometimes it's frightening, but that you were ready to learn about it." He stopped and bit his lip, and Bella could tell this was hurting him more than he was letting on. Maybe even more than it was hurting her. "Was that a lie? Were those just lyrics?"

"Of course they weren't just lyrics," Bella exclaimed, hearing the sob in her voice. "I meant everything I wrote."

"Then why doesn't it feel that way Bella?" Edward said. "Why does it still feel like you don't trust me? Why can't you sing with me at the recital?"

"I trust you Edward, I do." Bella's voice trailed off in an unfinished tone, but she was now at a loss for words.

Edward sighed and took a step back from her. His hand went to his hair again. "I don't know, maybe we _did_ rushed things…"

Bella could hear his thoughts trying to form the words in a way that would hurt the least. Little did he know anything he said following those words would break her heart. "Don't say it," she pleaded with him. "It's doesn't have to be that way. I was stupid. I was being stupid. I let my emotions get the best of me. I should have known that you just trying to be there for me with this whole recital thing. Just don't," her voice dropped below a whisper, "break up with me."

"Bella–"

"Edward, please." Tears of frustration started welling in her eyes, but she blinked them back.

The look in Edward's eyes revealed defeat. "I don't know what else to do Bella," he murmured.

He took a step closer to her, and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. Her eyes closed under his touch, warmth flooding from the spot of his mouth throughout her body. Then the warmth disappeared. Bella didn't want to open her eyes, trying to hold on to what was left of Edward's touch.  
Because she knew when her eyes did finally open, he would be gone.

* * *

**Celine Dion, "The Power Of Love", http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=9BHoj8uFdr8 (you know what to do about the spaces)**

**Reviews are always appreciated.**

**--Brin--**


	9. Minichapter: Alice Says

**This is a minichapter (that's why its so short). Just as I was about to plunge into the next chapter, this little bit came to me, and I figured that I should share it with you all anyway, despite how short it is. Hope you all like.**

**Disclaimer: still don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Alice Says**

"I'm surprised you came Bells," Alice said, not taking her eyes off of her magazine. She must have had a sixth sense to know it was Bella coming. "I figured you were ignoring me much like you were ignoring my brother."

The words stung, but Bella braved the pain. "I'm so sorry Alice," she said apologetically. "So much has been going on–"

"And I would have known about it if you had returned my calls," Alice said icily, cutting Bella off. Her eyes lifted from the magazine and shot daggers into Bella. "Or maybe if you had called me yourself and told me what was going on. Instead of me having to snoop around and figure it out. I thought friends told friends things. Are we not friends?"

The last thing Bella wanted was to have another Cullen hate her. "Please Alice," she pleaded. "I know I've been handling myself the wrong way. I just so confused about everything. And I know I should have come to you in the beginning. And I can completely understand if you don't want to talk to me now, but I–"

"Shut up Bells."

Bella fell silent almost immediately. Alice gave a long sigh and closed her magazine, placing it flat on the table in front of her. Then she stood up. "Come on Bells, let's walk and talk."

They were in the library – when Bella had called Alice to find out where she was, she had replied to come here. "You're not mad?" Bella queried.

"Of course I'm mad Bella," Alice said snappishly. "Just because you and my brother have a falling out doesn't me that _you and I _have had a falling out. And I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, cause all of my brother's little girlfriends do this: try to get in the good books with me because they know how Eddie and I operate. And then once Eddie leaves them they leave me too, but," Alice looked directly at Bella at this point, "I thought you were different. I thought we were cool without Edward's help. And yet you acted just like the rest of them."

Crying had become so natural to Bella in the past couple of days that she wasn't surprised to feel the water building up in her eyes. But she held them back, knowing that they wouldn't help resolve anything. "I'm sorry Alice," she whispered. "I should have known that we were still friends even if things ended between me and your brother." It would take too much Edward's name and 'ended' in the same sentence. "I guess I just thought it would be less complicated for you to choose between us."

"Well let's get one thing clear from the get go," Alice said. "My brother always fucks up when it comes to girls. He may be every female's eye candy or whatever, but he was no idea what he's doing sometimes. The only time I ever side with him on anything concerning his relationships is when I like the girl." Alice smiled, and Bella found it to be the most comforting thing she had seen in days. "Lucky for you, I still like you."

"You have no idea how grateful–"

"Yeah, yeah, all of that later," Alice said waving it off. "Come on, walk and talk. I've already heard Edward's version of this situation more times than I can count." She rolled her eyes, probably at the memory. "What I need know is your version of things."

The two of them left the library and ended up circling the quad a few times while Bella explained what the last couple of days had been so far: her dispute with Edward over the recital, her misunderstanding of his intentions, the unnecessary bickering that turned into the inevitable break up.

"Well let me stop you there," Alice said. "He didn't break up with you. Not if he didn't say the words.

"It might as well feel like he's broken up with me," Bella muttered. "I haven't heard from him since the last time we talked, and that was two days ago."

Alice shrugged her shoulders. "Well even if you guys did 'break up', he's definitely not over it. In fact," her face took on a thoughtful expression at this point, "he pretty much did the same thing you just did – blamed himself for everything and wondered if there was an outlet for you guys to patch up the good thing you guys had going on." Then Alice rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I hate melodrama."

Bella managed a laugh at that, but then sighed. "Sorry that we're being so dramatic."

"It's because you guys are so _in love _with each other." She put a teasing spin on the words 'in love'. "You both want to fix things, you both want to take the blame, but you both don't know what to do." Alice grinned. "It's actually kinda cute in a way."

"Thanks," Bella said, less than pleasantly.

Alice picked up on her tone. "Hey, don't get mad at me. We could have brainstormed on how to fix this whole thing before it got this point if you had just picked up your damn phone the _first_ time I called you."

Bella fell silent at that. Alice walked over to one of the nearby benches positioned under a shady tree, then took a seat. Bella followed her and sat down beside her.

"Well, the good news, as I said is that Edward is sad," Alice reminded her. "Normally, when him and his little girlfriends fall out, he just gets over it and finds a new girlfriend. And trust me, there are girls throwing themselves at him now that it seems like you guys are over."

Bella didn't need Alice to tell her that. She had seen it herself: walking to and fro from class and seeing various and always gorgeous blonds and brunettes attaching themselves to Edward's arm while being dressed as scantily as possible without being completely naked. She also noted that he never truly reciprocated their advances, but Bella felt that it was only a matter of time before one of the blonds or brunettes won him over.

"He's devastated," Alice admitted. "I've only seen him act like this once before, back in high school, when he was dating this other girl. And even then, it wasn't this bad. All he does now is sit in his dorm room and churn out all this really depressing music about love and lost love and blah." Alice shuddered. "It's so unlike him. But then again, that gives us hope does it not? Cause it means he still cares about you."

"Right," Bella said. She totally understood Edward churning out music about love and lost love, she must have made pages and pages of the same thing herself as well. "The real question is how do we fix things?"

"Well I would suggest talking to him, but it seems like that option is out." Alice touched Bella's knee affectionately. "He may be hurting over you right now, which shows us that he cares, but he's probably trying to force himself to get over you. And if he's doing _that_ then chances are, meeting for conversation is out."

A wave of sadness came over Bella at the thought of Edward consciously trying to rid himself of the feelings he had for her. "So what do I do?" she said, desperate.

"You have to do something that will really get his attention," Alice said. "Something that he won't be able to avoid being affected by. And then that way, once you have his attention, you can tell him that you still care about him and still want to work things out."

"Like what?"

Alice smiled. "You'll come up with something good I'm sure Bells. You're a smart girl. And if you really like my brother as much as it seems like you do, you'll go the lengths to make things better."

"And you think Edward will hear me out?"

"I know he will. He may be stubborn at times, and not all that good when it comes to girls he _really _likes. But at least you know that he _does _really like you, and that's enough to know that you have the upper hand here. It'll feel right – the idea – when you come up with it."

The idea, at that moment, hit her like a ton of bricks. She almost couldn't believe she didn't see it before. And from Alice's expression, Bella felt that Alice knew all along Bella was going to come to this conclusion.

"I have an idea," Bella said. "But I'm going to need your help."

"Well that's why I'm here Bells," Alice said brightly.

They spent the whole day together, planning. And the following few days as well, were devoted to perfecting the plans. Alice, at times, would drop hints that Edward was getting curious as to why the two girls were suddenly spending so much together. Then she assured Bella that this was good, because this was Edward wanting to know what Bella was up to ("the interest is still there, and that's all that's going to help us now").

The day before the plan was to be put into action, Bella lay awake in her bed, her bedside lamp being the only light in the room. Butterflies fluttered incessantly in her stomach, but she tried to calm them. This was not the time to get nervous. She refused to let things fall through her fingers after all this hard work: planning and processing.

She reached for her digital camera, and flipped through the menu out of idleness. Her fingers stopped when she reached a picture of her and Edward. She remembered when this picture was taken, one random and not particularly special day when she, Edward, Jasper, Alice and Emmett were hanging out together in town. Edward was standing behind her, arms around her waist, and holding her close, his cheek pressed against hers. They both were wearing this large smiles – Bella's so wide that her eyes were half closed. Her hands were resting atop Edward's where they laced around her waist.

She closed her eyes, taking herself back to that day. They were walking through town: Alice wanted a new pair of sunglasses. Emmett just needed to get off campus. The three of them – Emmett, Jasper and Alice – walked ahead of Bella and Edward, while the two of them sauntered together, hand in hand, hardly looking at anything besides each other's eyes.

"You guys are too in love," Emmett had joked. "It's almost kinda sickening to watch. It's like Jasper and Alice all over again when they first started going out."

"What, Ali and are still like that," Jasper said, grabbing Alice playfully around the waist and pressing his lips to her cheek.

It was then Edward moved behind Bella, holding her close. He whispered in her ear, "I hope we end up like Jasper and Alice: together and blissfully happy for always."

Edward gave her a playful squeeze at that point, which made Bella start smiling brighter than she already was. It was at that point when Alice reached for Bella's handbag and sifted through it for a camera. "You guys look so cute right now, I have to take this," she was saying as she pulled out the digital camera.

The snapshot was taken, and now here it was on her camera. They both looked happy.

And Bella knew in her heart that they could still be happy like this. This situation that arose between them was not a major one, not one that was to be the end of all of their relationship. They were stronger than this mild disagreement – a situation that got out of hand because they both handled things wrong.

Bella was ready to handle things the right way. She could still feel the remnants of that day flitting through her mind. Right after the picture was taken, Edward turned her around his arms so that she was facing him.

"You mean so much to me, Bella Swan," he told her.

"You mean the world to me Edward Cullen," she replied, only moments before he kissed her softly.

Bella sighed to herself, placing the camera back on her nightstand. Then she turned out her light, her nervous replaced with the tender feelings that followed thinking about Edward. She knew she was ready to fix things, to return to be blissfully happy and together for always with the only person who mattered that much to her.

* * *

**Final chapters are under way! (continue to bear with me if you don't see them tomorrow)**

**Until my next update, reviews are always appreciated**

**--Brin--**


	10. Recital Reconciliation

**Final chapter! Final chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I also don't own any of the components that make up the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, "Your Guardian Angel", and Celine Dion "Because You Loved Me"**

* * *

**Recital Reconiliation**

Despite the large number of students that attended Ambrose University, the winter recital turnout was pretty low. Alice made a point of telling Bella that more people attending the spring recital rather than the winter one, since the winter one was the more casual affair. But the few hundred people and parents populating the school auditorium was enough to make Bella's heart race. Even more so, seeing Edward tuning his guitar was enough to make her run for the hills in fear.

"Come on Bells," Alice said encouragingly. "You're already here. You've prepared so much."

"I know but," Bella sighed, "What if it doesn't make a difference? What if nothing happens and all our preparation–"

"Bells, shut up," Alice said in a firm but friendly tone. "Nothing bad is going to happen. This is going to be fine."

Of course, that was easy for Alice to say: words are only words. But when it comes to actually putting the practice into action, Bella couldn't help but be somewhat nervous. Everything was riding on today.

And yet, at the same time, Bella felt more ready for this than she had for anything else. She was ready for all this nonsensical unnecessary drama to be over, and for her to return to Edward's ever-comforting embrace – no matter what it takes.

She sat on the left side of the auditorium. Edward was only four seats down from her in the same row. He still had his guitar in his lap, but he was no longer tuning it. His attention was now focused on Alice, who was now walking up to the stage to welcome everyone and introduce the first act. Bella, however, couldn't look away from Edward. He was wearing the black shirt he had tried on the day they argued, paired with dark wash fitted jeans and clean white sneakers. His hair was at its wildest, and Bella remembered tangling her fingers deep within his locks. And his eyes were lowered, making the color of his irises a warm muted gold. She kept her eyes on him, willing him to look at her.

He didn't, but she didn't look away from him, not once. Not even when her fellow peers got up on stage to perform themselves. None of them were particularly spectacular: Alice was right about people not taking this particular recital that seriously – she could hear a group of people playing an intense version of Panic Attack on Rock Band 2.

_Look at me Edward, _she told him mentally. His eyes were so focused on the stage that Bella was sure now that he was simply ignoring her. He must have seen her before she saw him, and now he was making a point not to look at her. The pain at that idea was impossible to ignore, but she didn't look away from him. _Look at me Edward._

But he didn't, and soon enough they were getting to the end of the program.

Bella sighed, finally allowing her eyes to move away from Edward. Maybe he was already over their entire situation…over _her._ Maybe all of Alice's skillful planning and her efforts would go to waste. She sighed again, a sorrowful one this time.

Alice was getting up on stage again, her light voice ringing through the auditorium. "Our next performer will be my very own brother, Edward Cullen."

Bella's eyes fluttered upward at the sound of Edward's name. He walked smoothly from his seat towards the stage, taking the five steps one by one. The tech crew placed a stool in the center of the stage and Edward eased onto it, placing his guitar back in his lap. There was a mike set up in front of him as well. He strummed a few chords, then spoke:

"I wrote this song for someone special." His voice was like honey to Bella's ears, and the words made her perk ever so slightly. "Someone who, despite it all, I still care and will always care for."

He stopped for a moment, eyes cast downward, and then his eyes found Bella's. The action was so sudden, that it took Bella's breath for a moment. But she didn't look away. And then in the same low voice as before, he said, "This one is for Bella."

Blood rushed to her face when she heard her own name. She whirled around for a moment to find Alice, who was off to the side of the stage, grinning widely. Suddenly, she felt that the plans she had made with Alice weren't the only plans Alice had made this week. Alice nodded back in Edward's direction, prompting Bella to return her gaze to him. He was still watching her, waiting. And once their eyes found each other again, he began to play.

_When I see your smile_

_Tears run down my face_

_I can't replace_

_And now that I'm strong I have figured out_

_How this world turns cold and it breaks through my soul_

_And I know I'll find_

_Deep inside me_

_I can be the one_

_  
I will never let you fall_

_I'll stand up with you forever_

_I'll be there for you through it all_

_Even if saving you sends me to heaven_

_  
It's okay_

_It's okay_

_It's okay_

_Season are changing_

_And waves are crashing_

_And stars are falling all for us_

_Days grow longer and nights grow shorter_

_I can show you I'll be the one_

_  
I will never let you fall_

_I'll stand up with you forever_

_I'll be there for you through it all_

_Even if saving you sends me to heaven_

He didn't look away from her as he played: not to look down at his finger positioning, not wander around the auditorium. Bella couldn't look away either, mystified. The words filled her body and made her heart swell with so much emotion, she was afraid she might burst.

_  
Cause you're my_

_You're my, my_

_My true love_

_My whole heart_

_Please don't throw that away_

_Cause I'm here_

_For you_

_Please don't walk away and_

_Please tell me you'll stay_

Even as the music picked up, and he strummed his acoustic harder while the backing band began to join in, Edward still didn't look away from her. She could feel the emotion in his eyes, see them shaking with…unshed tears? Bella could feel water welling in her own eyes, but she couldn't even raise her hand. She allowed herself to be consumed by Edward's words.

_  
Use me as you will_

_Pull my strings just for all thrill_

_And I know I'll be okay_

_Though my skies_

_  
I will never let you fall_

_I'll stand up with you forever_

_I'll be there for you through it all_

_Even if saving you sends me to heaven_

_I will never let you fall_

_I'll stand up with you forever_

_I'll be there for you through it all_

_Even if saving you sends me to heaven_

Edward's song faded into appreciative applause: some people even whistled in approval. And of course, his mother and father were on their feet. But Bella was glued to the spot. Even though Edward was no longer looking at her now, but getting off stage and stopping to hug Alice before he returned to his seat, Bella could still feel the intensity of his gaze on her.

"And our final performer," Alice said once the applause had settled, "is a new face to our recital, but hopefully this won't be the last time you hear from her, because she's fantastic. My best friend, Bella Swan."

Now it was Edward's turn to be surprised. His eyes shot directly to her, eyebrow raised. Bella only swallowed hard and tried to regain composure. She was still fill the emotions of Edward's song, that she wasn't sure if she could perform her own. Still, she got up from her seat and walked slowly towards the stage.

The lights were blinding, and did nothing for her already rapidly beating heart. The tech crew had removed the stool, leaving her stand in the middle of the stage. She tapped the mike nervously, and feedback shot through the auditorium.

"Sorry," she apologized quietly, speaking into the mike. "Hi, I'm Bella Swan, and I'm a freshmen here." She stopped herself: no one else gave fucking bios before they sang. She took a deep breath, which was also picked up by the mike. Now a couple of chuckles went through the auditorium. Bella's heart rate increased that much more.

She couldn't do this: it was too much. She hadn't even started yet, and already she was crumbling. She was ready to apologize again the mike and walk right off the stage before her eyes locked on with a familiar set of golden ones.

Edward hadn't gone all the way back to his seat, but was standing and watching her. His expression was kind and understanding. And when they're eyes locked, he gave her an encouraging nod. Bella nodded back and took another deep breath, ignoring the second wave of chuckles.

"I'm a bit nervous," she said shyly. "This is a song I wrote, and I normally don't do this, but I wrote it for someone special, and I wanted them to hear it." She paused, and turned her attention to Edward. "This song is for Edward."

_  
For all those times you stood by me_

_For all the truth that you made me see_

_For all the joy you brought to my life_

_For all the wrongs that you made right_

_For every dream you made come true_

_For all the love I found in you_

_I'll be forever thankful baby_

_  
You're the one who held me up_

_Never let me fall_

_You're the one who saw me through_

_Through it all_

_  
You were my strength when I was weak_

_You were my voice when I couldn't speak_

_You were my eyes when I couldn't see _

_You saw the best there was in me_

_Lifted me up when I couldn't reach_

_You gave me faith cause you believed_

_I'm everything I am_

_Because you loved me, ooh, baby_

Bella was not brave enough to keep her eyes open, but she could feel Edward watching her. What she couldn't give in eye contact, she made up for in emotion. She sang deep from in her soul, sang with all the love in her heart that she had for this one boy, who had changed her life irrevocably.

_  
You gave me wings and made me fly_

_You touched my hand, I could touch the sky_

_I lost my faith, you gave it back to me_

_You said no star was out of reach_

_You stood by me and I stood tall_

_I had your love, I had it all_

_I'm grateful for each day you gave me_

_  
Maybe I don't know that much_

_But I know this much is true_

_I was blessed because I was_

_Loved by you_

Alice had gotten Bella a backing choir to sing along with her. Bella heard them singing her chorus, but she was hardly paid heavy attention to them. She was lost in the song, swimming in her deep feelings for Edward.

_  
You were my strength when I was weak_

_You were my voice when I couldn't speak_

_You were my eyes when I couldn't see _

_You saw the best there was in me_

_Lifted me up when I couldn't reach_

_You gave me faith cause you believed_

_I'm everything I am_

_Because you loved me_

_  
You were always there for me, the tender wind that carried me_

_The light in the dark_

_Shining your love into my life_

_You've been the inspiration_

_Through the lies you were the truth_

_My world is a better place because of you_

When Bella hit the high note, the room suddenly erupted in thunderous applause. As the choir continued on with chorus and the band continued to play, Bella did natural vocalizing over them, giving it all the feeling she could. And then when she changed keys on the second chorus, the applause seemed to get louder. But Bella only sang louder in response, making sure that the only person who mattered could hear her: Edward. The room settled down as she said the final lyrics of the song:

_  
I'm everything I am because you loved me_

_I'm everything I am, because you loved me_

And then there was more applause, but Bella's eyes went searching for Edward. He was still standing in the same spot she left him when her eyes closed, except now he was clapping  
wildly, a bright smile on his face. She caught herself smiling back, and before she could stop herself, she was rushing over to him. Edward caught her flawlessly, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around twice.

"Bella you were so good," he said, sounding genuinely impressed. "I'm so proud of you. I thought you didn't want to sing in the recital."

"I didn't," she said honestly. "But I wanted to show you," she paused, reformed her words, "I wanted you to know that I appreciate everything you've done for me. And that I shouldn't have acted the way I did. And that," she took a deep breath, "I love you so much."

He still had his arms around her from lifting her, and now he pulled her closer to him. "I'm sorry it got to that Bella," he told her. "Really I am. You're one of the most important people in my life, and I guess my feelings for you were so strong that, when I thought you were rejecting me," he stopped, then added, "I guess I just flipped out."

"I should have known that you wouldn't do anything to hurt me," Bella said. "I _know _that you wouldn't do anything to hurt me. I just acted silly."

"So did I."

"So both of you are silly," Alice said, suddenly appearing next to them. "That was so obvious from eons ago. And now that that's been established, the only thing that matters now is moving on from the silliness." Alice rolled her eyes. "Jeez, do I have to do everything around here?"

"You've already done so much," Edward said. "Maybe you should just go away now."

Alice pretended to be hurt at Edward's comment, but she floated away over to Jasper. Edward turned his attention back to Bella, lifting his hand to softly stroke her cheek. "I missed you so much Bella," he whispered.

"I missed you too Edward," she replied. She brought her hand up to where his was on her face and touched it. "I missed this. Us."

"Next time we have a disagreement, we can't let it get like this," Edward said.

"Never again," Bella agreed.

"Because this was stupid."

"So stupid."

"We have to talk things out."

"Absolutely." But Bella was done talking, her eyes were lowered and focusing on Edward's mouth. He had to hear her mentally screaming at him to kiss her.

His eyes lowered suddenly as well. "Right," he said, his voice husky. "Glad that that's settled."

"Me too," Bella said in a breath just as Edward's lips met her own. It was the softest touch, sweeter than she remembered. She had gone too long without the insistent press of Edward's hand on her back, and the taste of his mouth. She pressed herself closer to him, never wanting to let go.

"I liked your song," he murmured against her mouth.

"I liked your song," she said in a whisper, just before she kissed him again.

"And I'm so proud of you Bella."

"Shut up and kiss me Edward."

And so he did: no more words, just the constant brush of Edward's tongue over hers. Her legs trembled, but Edward's strong arms kept her steady. Her arms crept and locked around his neck, pulling him down closer to her.

Bella could only imagine the people who would be staring: the girls with malicious intent, realizing that their plans to get with Edward were now foiled. Bella relished in the idea of Edward being only hers again, and kissed him harder as the thought crossed her mind.

"Maybe we should get out of here," he said pulling himself from her. His voice was deep and throaty, thick with desire.

"Good idea," Bella said, her voice matching his own.

But they only took a couple of steps before they were intercepted by an important-looking man in a suit. Carlisle stood next to him, his expression excited.

"Bella, this is Jeffery Jonson," Carlisle said. "A close friend of mine, and CEO of JJ Records."

Carlisle didn't need to go that far: Bella knew all about Jeffery Jonson. He had signed some of Bella's favorite singer-songwriters. "It's an honor," Bella stammered out, temporarily forgetting her place.

"The honor is all mine," Jonson said. "I thoroughly enjoyed your song. And your voice is phenomenal. If you'd like, I'd like to get you into one of my studios with some of my producers and have you cut a demo for JJ Records. I mean, I can't promise fame and stardom, but you certainly have something there. And I want to grab onto before someone else does."

Bella hadn't ever dreamed of being "discovered" or even being a performer of that sense, but the idea of producing in a JJ Records studio was enough to make her jump for joy. Just as the thought came to her mind, Edward lifted her in excitement.

"That's so great Bella," he cheered.

"I don't know what to say," Bella said. Then she smacked her hand on her forehead. "Of course I know what to say. Yes, yes, I'd love to."

"Good choice," Jonson said with a grin. He handed her a slip of paper. "My card. Call next week and we can set up some studio time."

Jonson walked away without another word, leaving Edward and Bella in a celebratory stupor. Carlisle left them alone as well, sensing that they wanted to be only with each other.

"I can't believe this is happening," Bella said. "Me making a demo at JJ Records. The CEO himself told me he liked my voice."

"Well I told you that your voice was fantastic a thousand times." Edward gave her a sad expression. "But I guess my opinion isn't good enough: you need some big shot to tell you whether or not your voice is phenomenal."

Bella gasped. "Don't say that Edward!"

He cracked a wide smile, the sadness replaced with playfulness. "You know I'm just playing with you Bella," he said.

She leaned closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck again. "I'm just making sure."

Edward kissed her softly, but with the same passion they were sharing before. "This great news calls for a real celebration, does it not?"

The suggestiveness of his tone was not lost of Bella. She smiled. "It does, and I have an idea in mind."

"One that involves me I hope."

"One that could never involve anyone else."

Edward took her hand, and the two left the auditorium together. They walked to Edward's dorm, hand in hand, and entered his bedroom in states of sheer bliss. Bella knew she missed Edward during their trial separation, but it wasn't until their bodies melted together again that she realized how much. Edward completed her in more ways than one. When they fell away from each other in pleasant states of ecstasy, Bella made a pact to herself never to be without Edward again: in his arms is where she belonged.

"Edward," she whispered.

Edward's eyes were closed, but they fluttered open at the sound of Bella's voice. "Yes my dear?"

Bella leaned in closer to him, nuzzling into his side. "I love you."

"I love you too, Bella," he said earnestly, giving her a tight squeeze. "I love you so much."

Bella smiled to hereslf. No words ever sounded sweeter to her ears. It made everything more worth it - everything they had been through - to know that it would come down to this moment, with just them two together again.

* * *

**Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, "Your Guardian Angel" :: http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=jRehmX3zlwE**

**Celine Dion, "Because You Loved Me" :: http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=Bvou2XxB5Cs**

**(take out the spaces, as per regular)**

**Thank you all for reading this story. Even though response was lukewarm, I must admit, I did enjoy writing this story. I might try my hand at another Twilight fic sometime in the future. But we will see....right now, I'm just going to prepare for my graduation ( '09!! )**

**Reviews are always welcome, thanks again to you all.**

**Until my next story...**

**--Brin--**


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